Russian military spy ship 'Yantar' is said to be mapping and intercepting undersea communications cables across Europe
Reports that the Russian special intelligence and research vessel Yantar has been sailing off the coast of Northern Europe have reportedly raised alarm among Western authorities. The Yantar has been spotted sailing directly above undersea cables, and it is thought that it may be laying the groundwork for data collection and sabotage.
The Russian spy ship stalking Europe's subsea cables
Russia Accused Of Preparing Sabotage Ops Around British Isles Based On Spy Ship Movements | ZeroHedge
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russia-accused-preparing-sabotage-ops-around-british-isles-based-spy-ship-movements
The Yantar is a research vessel believed to have been active since at least autumn 2023, and its suspicious navigation routes and equipment have led Western observers to believe it is engaged in intelligence activities. A senior NATO official said, 'The Yantar is a tool to make us wary,' and that they have been monitoring it for some time.
According to an investigation by the Financial Times, the Jantar has been spotted sailing around Europe, including near the undersea cable in the central Irish Sea, near the undersea cable connecting Norway and Svalbard, and in British territorial waters.
by Andrey Luzik
The Financial Times reports that authorities believe Yantar is overseen by the Russian military's secretive General Directorate for Deep Sea Research (GUGI), which primarily deals with submarines and surface vessels like Yantar. GUGI's activities are kept highly secret, with only a small number of highly trained Russian deep-sea divers allowed to be involved.
GUGI went quiet for a while after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but is known to have become active again since the end of 2023. Western authorities believe that GUGI is capable of carrying out 'all kinds of covert operations,' and are concerned that it may be capable of sabotage, mapping undersea cables, and intercepting data.
Undersea cables are essential for communications across distant regions, and a breach would have far-reaching consequences. Western authorities fear that the most sensitive cables, which transmit data from the Joint Undersea Surveillance System, a joint US-UK military network that monitors the movements of enemy submarines, could be compromised.
Yantar is believed to be capable of dropping submersibles equipped with manipulator arms to eavesdrop on military and internet cables to intercept information, plant explosives for future detonation, and alter or disrupt the frequency of pulses traveling through undersea communications cables, which could cause serious disruption to time-sensitive industries such as high-frequency trading.
The Irish government is working to strengthen security, investing 60 million euros (approximately 10.5 billion yen) in the development of underwater sonar. The UK is also strengthening its response, with the National Security Advisor delegating exclusive responsibility for securing undersea infrastructure to the Royal Navy in the summer of 2025. Countries such as the UK and Norway are reportedly deploying warships and P-8 patrol aircraft on a rotational basis to strengthen surveillance of the 'GIUK Gap ,' an area of waters where Russian-flagged vessels may enter.
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