UK navy foiled Russian submarines surveying undersea cables, defence minister says

<p>John Healey says warship and aircraft forced Russia to abandon activity in North Sea in month-long operation</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2026/apr/09/iran-yvette-cooper-starmer-gulf-green-polanski-elections-housing-latest-news-updates">UK politics live – latest updates</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/apr/09/nato-rutte-trump-iran-hungary-elections-vance-latest-news-updates">Europe live – latest updates</a></p></li></ul><p>A British warship and aircraft tracked and monitored Russian submarines trying to survey vital undersea infrastructure in the North Atlantic, ensuring they fled the area, the defence secretary, John Healey, has said.</p><p>Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, Healey said the UK operation lasted more than a month and saw a Royal Navy warship and P8 marine patrol aircraft “track and deter any malign activity” by three Russian submarines.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/09/uk-navy-russian-submarines-undersea-cables-north-atlantic">Continue reading...</a>