The Royal Navy tracked a Russian intelligence ship as it monitored NATO military exercises off Scotland, the British Ministry of Defence said on Monday.
The Vishnya-class vessel Viktor Leonov sailed near the Outer Hebrides between Sept. 29 and Oct. 8, according to the MOD. It was "closely monitoring" warships taking part in Exercise Strike Warrior. The drills involved about 2,000 personnel from six nations, including Britain, Canada, Germany and the United States.
British Merlin helicopters tracked the ship and were rapidly redeployed to Scotland from Culdrose base in Cornwall. Captain James Hall said the operation demonstrated to "us, our adversaries and our nation" that Britain has "the will and capabilities to stand guard over the homeland 24 hours a day."
The incident was one of three operations conducted by London in just over two weeks to track Russian intelligence-gathering ships and warships. In the first half of October, the destroyer HMS Dauntless and patrol ship HMS Tyne intercepted the frigate Neustrashimy in the English Channel as it escorted sanctioned cargo ships. The MOD said Russia had been forced to use the warship to protect "illegal shipments." Between Oct. 11 and 14, HMS Tyne tracked the Soviet-built landing ship Aleksandr Shabalin as it escorted a shadow fleet vessel and a tugboat.
The number of Royal Navy interventions linked to Russian warships in British waters rose by 25 percent in the first seven months of this year compared with the same period last year. London has sanctioned more than 500 Russian vessels and seized the oil tanker Smyrtos in June. As of May, Ukraine's government register listed 1,404 vessels in Russia's shadow fleet.
