The Royal Navy has been monitoring a Russian spy ship operating close to the northern coast of Scotland after the vessel repeatedly entered or approached British territorial waters in recent weeks.
The ship, identified as the Yantar, was publicly confirmed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) after MP John Healey raised concerns in Parliament. In a statement released on X, the MoD said the vessel had been tracked near the northern edge of the British Isles “for some time”. Officials also revealed that the crew of the Yantar allegedly directed low-powered lasers at a Royal Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft that had been dispatched to shadow the ship.
Defence sources view the Yantar as a potential threat to the UK’s critical undersea infrastructure, particularly the network of telecommunications cables responsible for internet traffic and essential communications. The MoD noted that this marks the second time this year a Russian surveillance vessel has operated in or near UK waters.
In response, the Royal Navy has deployed HMS Somerset (F82) to maintain continuous watch on the vessel and prevent it from conducting any unauthorised mapping of underwater cables, activity that could provide Russia with valuable intelligence on Western infrastructure.
The Yantar, officially described by Russia as a “research vessel”, is widely regarded by Western intelligence agencies as a deep-water surveillance platform. As the lead ship of the Project 22010 class, it has been observed over the past decade conducting intelligence-gathering missions across the Atlantic, North Sea and Barents Sea. The vessel has had previous run-ins with naval authorities in Brazil, Norway, Ireland and the UK.
Operating from its home port of Severomorsk, within Russia’s Northern Fleet command, the Yantar regularly undertakes long-range missions. It carries advanced sensor arrays, multiple radomes and remotely operated submersibles, enabling the ship to inspect or tamper with undersea assets far below the surface.
The ship’s presence near the UK is seen as part of a broader Russian campaign targeting NATO infrastructure. In recent months, several NATO countries have reported sightings of drones over sensitive military and civilian sites, including airports, energy facilities and airbases, raising concerns over coordinated intelligence operations.
These activities have been linked in part to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”, a group of commercial vessels that reportedly operate with their transponders switched off and have been implicated in launching drones or loitering near underwater cables.
The incident comes weeks after Germany deployed the frigate Sachsen (F220) to Denmark to support NATO efforts to deter further incursions and monitor suspected Russian reconnaissance missions in northern European waters.
