British Defense Minister: We are hunting Russian submarines

The number of Russian naval vessels threatening British waters has increased by 30%. – warned British Defense Minister John Healey on Friday in an interview with the BBC. The head of the ministry announced that he had conveyed a message to the leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin: “We are hunting for your submarines.”

In Healey's opinion, there is currently an increase in “Russian aggression across the board”, which, in his opinion, concerns not only Ukraine, but also affects Western Europe.

According to information provided by the British Ministry of Defense, the activity of Russian submarines in the waters of the North Atlantic has returned to the level of the Cold War.

The ministry announced that the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Navy have intensified surveillance of the area due to the activity of Russian submarines. RAF planes fly missions almost every day, sometimes around the clock. They are supported by forces from other NATO allies.

– Russia is challenging us, testing us, observing us. But (the conduct of the mission by British) planes allows us to say to Putin: we are watching you, we are hunting for your submarines – Healey said in an interview with the BBC, during a meeting with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius.

– The North Atlantic is a key region – and it is under threat from Russian nuclear-powered submarines. (…) That is why we need to know what is happening at sea, said the German Defense Minister. Pistorius announced that the Germans plan frequent patrol flights from the RAF base in Lossiemouth.

The German minister emphasized that every day there is more evidence that Russia is waging a hybrid war against Europe in the form of “fake news, disinformation, threats to undersea infrastructure.” – It's time for us to realize what is happening – he appealed.

The BBC recalled that in August, RAF planes, cooperating with American and Norwegian fighters, monitored a Russian submarine that was tracking the American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford during exercises in the North Atlantic.

Marta Zabłocka (PAP)

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