In November, after joining the frigate Admiral Golovko [censée emporter des missiles hypersoniques Zircon] and the tanker Vyazma in the English Channel, the Russian spy ship Yantar turned off its AIS device [Automatic Identification System]which allows boats to be located, and headed towards the Irish Sea. And this, under the surveillance of the British minehunter HMS Cattistock, joined by the patrol boat HMS Tyne.
Then, having briefly reactivated its AIS, the Yantar was spotted south of the Isle of Man, that is to say in an area crossed by around twenty submarine telecommunications cables, electrical interconnections and gas pipelines. connecting Ireland to the United Kingdom.
Given the reputation of the Yantar, implemented by the Main Directorate of Deep Sea Research [GUCI]the British forces then tightened their surveillance, dispatching the seabed surveillance vessel RFA Proteus as well as P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. At least, that is what was put forward by the press across the Channel at the time of the events.
For its part, Yantar is located in its exclusive economic zone [ZEE]Ireland deployed the patrol boat LÉ James Joyce and a CASA CN-295 dedicated to maritime surveillance. These resources were reinforced by the USNS Bruce Heezen, an American survey ship.
A few weeks later, when the cargo ship Ursa Major, linked to the Russian Ministry of Defense, had just sunk off the coast of Spain after an explosion in its engine room, the Yantar was spotted in Algiers, on January 11th. Apparently, Rear Admiral Alexander Konovalov, commander of the 29th “special purpose” submarine brigade, was on board.
Then, the Yantar was spotted near the site of the Ursa Major sinking. Did he implement his two mini-submarines [un AS-37 Rus et un AS-39 Konsul] to explore the wreck? The fact remains that he lingered there until January 16, under the surveillance of the NATO maritime command, and in particular under that of an Atlantic 2 maritime patrol plane of the French Navy.
Its investigations undoubtedly completed, the Yantar left the Mediterranean on January 17, before being spotted, four days later, 25 nautical miles north of Guernsey. Currently, it is in the North Sea… and we do not know whether it will go directly to its home port, at Olenya Guba, or whether it will continue its mission.
It is in this context that, on January 22, the British Minister of Defense [MoD]John Healey, issued a warning to Russia. “My message to President Putin is clear. We know what you are doing, and we will not hesitate to take strong action to protect the United Kingdom,” he assured, after indicating that the Yantar had been monitored by the frigate HMS Somerset and the HMS Tyne during its transit in the English Channel.
-“National security is the first duty of our government. […] Alongside our Joint Expeditionary Force and our NATO allies, we are strengthening our response to ensure that Russian ships and aircraft cannot operate covertly near UK or NATO territory. hammered Mr. Healey. “We will continue to expose the malicious activities led by Putin, cracking down on Russia’s shadow fleet to prevent financing of its illegal invasion of Ukraine,” he added.
And to announce that the Royal Air Force would deploy P-8A Poseidon as well as Rivet Joint spy planes as part of Operation Baltic Sentry, launched by NATO following damage inflicted by the Eagle S tanker on Estlink 2 submarine electric cable. Obviously, London does not endorse the comments of American and European officials, for whom the recent cable ruptures in the region are “accidental” and not due to acts of sabotage.
However, the MoD returned to the activities carried out by the Yantar when it was in the vicinity of the Isle of Man. Which probably explains this warning. So, he argued, the spy ship was “caught lurking over critical underwater infrastructure in UK waters”. Hence the unusual step taken by Mr Healy.
“I authorized a Royal Navy submarine to surface near the Yantar, strictly as a deterrent, to make it clear that we were secretly monitoring its every move,” the British Defense Minister revealed. , in the House of Commons. “Let me be clear, this is a Russian spy ship used to gather intelligence and map the UK's critical underwater infrastructure,” he insisted.
The name of the submarine involved was not specified by the MoD. It is possible that it is the nuclear attack submarine [SNA] HMS Triumph [classe Trafalgar]given that he was at sea at the time of the events.
Separately, Mr. Healey also announced that he had approved changes to the Royal Navy's rules of engagement to allow it to approach suspected Russian ships more closely.
