The Russian submarine Krasnodar hunted for three days by the British navy in the English Channel

The Krasnodar has resurfaced in British waters. The Royal Navy tracked this Russian submarine which was sailing in the Channel for three days, it announced on Thursday, at a time when the United Kingdom is working to strengthen its fight against this threat.

A British Navy supply ship, with an onboard Merlin helicopter, was deployed to track the highly stealthy Kilo Krasnodar-class submarine and the tugboat Altay. These Russian ships arrived via the North Sea and passed through the Strait of Pas-de-Calais to enter the English Channel.

The Royal Navy, which does not specify when the hunt took place, indicated in a press release that it was ready to “launch anti-submarine operations” if the Krasnodar had plunged into the waters. But it sailed on the surface throughout the operation, despite unfavorable weather conditions.

Cooperation agreement

Once arriving near the island of Ouessant, in the northwest of France, the British passed the torch to a NATO ally. The British army had already carried out a similar surveillance operation in July, after spotting the Russian submarine Novorossiysk in its territorial waters.

Defense Minister John Healey announced on Monday the launch of a multi-million pound program to improve the Royal Navy’s capabilities in the face of “undersea threats” from Moscow. According to London, Russian submarine activity in British waters has increased by 30% over the past two years.

The United Kingdom and Norway signed a cooperation agreement at the beginning of December to jointly operate a fleet of frigates to “hunt down” these submarines in the North Atlantic.

Phishing attempts

On Thursday, Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle also wrote a letter to British MPs, warning them that phishing attempts by Russian actors on WhatsApp and other messaging apps were on the rise. These aim to trick elected officials into sharing sensitive or compromising information.

Britain’s National Cyber ​​Security Center said Thursday it was “working with partners across government and Parliament in response to recent targeting of commercial messaging apps, including Signal and WhatsApp.”