April 9 (UPI) -- The British Ministry of Defense revealed Russian submarines conducted "nefarious activity" around underwater cables and pipelines.
The ministry said in a news release that a Russian attack submarine observed in international waters to Britain's north several weeks ago was determined to be a distraction while vessels from Russia's Main Directorate of Deep Sea Research, or GUGI, conducted the "nefarious activity" of conducting surveillance of British pipelines and undersea data cables.
"Subsea fiber optic cables are essential for all digital communications, with over 99% of international data traffic, including voice calls and internet data, traveling through subsea cables. This underpins global banking, trade and communications," the ministry said.
Britain dispatched boats, including the HMS St. Albans Royal Navy frigate, and helicopters to make it clear to the Russian vessels that their presence was known. The Russian vessels retreated from the area and no damage was detected to the undersea infrastructure.
"To Putin, I say this: we see you, we see your activity over our underwater infrastructure. You should know that any attempt to damage it will not be tolerated and would have serious consequences," British Defense Secretary John Healey said.
