UK warns Putin after North Sea Russian submarine operation

British Defense Secretary John Healey warned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday of “serious consequences” after announcing a weeks-long military operation to deter Russian intervention in the North Sea.

“To President Putin, I want you to know that we see you, we see your activities on our cables and pipelines, and any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences,” he warned.

The defense secretary has detailed an operation involving a Royal Navy frigate, Royal Air Force patrol aircraft and hundreds of personnel to deter three Russian submarines spotted near underwater cables in Britain’s economic exclusion zone.

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Healey, one of the submarines nuclear powered Akula-class submarine, and the other two were spy submarines belonging to Russia’s Main Directorate of Deep Sea Research, also known as GUGI. Healey said the submarines in this unit were directed specifically by Putin “to conduct hybrid warfare activities against the United Kingdom and its allies.”

Healey announced that at least one of these allies, Norway, was involved in the deterrent operation. Norwegian Defense Minister Tore O Sandvik confirmed the cooperation in a statement on Thursday.

“Norway participated in a coordinated military operation with our allies to send a clear message: covert activities in our waters will not be tolerated.” sandvik wrote.

Healey said the submarines left British waters after a lengthy monitoring process by the UK and Norway and there was no evidence of damage to any underwater infrastructure.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the UK Ministry of Defense for more information.

Russia’s attack was the second time in less than six months that the UK has detected Russian shipping near its territorial waters. healey announced A similar military operation was carried out in November after Russia deployed the spy ship Yantar to the North Sea in 2025.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting via videoconference at Russia’s Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, to discuss the situation in Dagestan hit by severe floods. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Healey also cited this year’s incident as an example of why Britain has not sent troops to the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway in the Persian Gulf that is key to global energy markets, which Iran has blocked in recent weeks.

Trump later called Russia “the primary threat to the UK and NATO” and said: “I understand why people may question why the full UK military assets and personnel have not been deployed to deal with this problem. But this is not in Britain’s national interest.”

President Donald Trump criticized NATO allies and the organization itself for not accepting requests to help open the Strait of Hormuz.

“NATO WAS NOT THERE WHEN WE NEEDED IT, THEY WON’T BE THERE WHEN WE NEED IT AGAIN,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social on Thursday morning.

Russian personnel walk through the walkway to the Russian Navy submarine RFS Petropavlosvsk-Kamchatskiy, which is currently on a port visit at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

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