Kola based spy ship pointed lasers at UK military aircraft
UK defence secretary John Healey said the use of laser from the Yantar was “deeply dangerous”.
The Yantar, an infamous spy ship from the Olenya Bay north of Murmansk, is currently sailing north of Scotland. This is the second voyage in UK waters this year.
“My message to Russia, and to Putin, is this: We see you, we know what you are doing, and if the Yantar travels south this week, we are ready,” John Healy said at a news conference.
Healy said the vessel is gathering intelligence and mapping undersea cables.
The Yantar belongs to Russia's Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research, nicknamed GUGI, and is based in the Olenya Bay on the coast to the Kola Peninsula. This navel base is home to the fleet of special-purpose mini-submarines previously described in detail by the Barents Observer.
Over the past few years, the Yantar has been observed zigzagging over Norwegian and British underwater cables and gas pipelines from the Barents Sea in the north to the North Sea in the south.
The defence secretary said a Royal navy frigate and P-8 aircraft are deployed to "monitor and track" every move of the Russian intelligence ship.
"The Yantar directed laser at our pilots," John Healey said. "That Russian action is deeply dangerous."
Laser light directed at aircraft can cause flash blindness to the pilots. It is unclear if the Russian crew used a small laser pointer or if the laser came from a laser weapon.
Moscow's Embassy in London dismisses the claims, saying the "endless accusations and suspicions only cause a smile."
"We have no interest in British underwater communications," the Embassy said in a statement.
