A Russian spy ship known to map subsea cables shone lasers at the British military pilots who were monitoring them.

The Yantar vessel entered into UK’s exclusive economic zone multiple times in the past week, and has a long history of probing the island's waters.

“As I speak, a Russian spy ship, the Yantar, is on the edge of UK waters, north of Scotland, having entered the UK’s wider waters over the last few weeks. This is a vessel designed for gathering intelligence and mapping our undersea cables," Defence Secretary John Healey said.

“We deployed a Royal Navy frigate and RAF P-8 planes to monitor and track this vessel’s every move, during which the Yantar directed lasers at our pilots. That Russian action is deeply dangerous, and this is the second time this year that this ship, the Yantar, has deployed to UK waters.

"So my message to Russia and to Putin is this: we see you, we know what you’re doing, but if the Yantar travels south this week, we are ready.”

As well as mapping the cables, Yantar is believed to be capable of cutting them or tapping them. Russia officially calls the ship an oceanographic research vessel.

The country claimed that the UK's statements were "provocative" and an "escalation of militaristic hysteria."

Yantar last year probed Irish waters, and was escorted by the local navy after it was found sailing near critical Internet and power subsea cables and pipelines east of Dublin and southwest of the Isle of Man.

Russian UUVs have been spotted near cables, and a number of cables have been cut in the Baltic Sea – although Russia has never been conclusively proven to be behind the incidents.

In 2023, the UK announced its own cable ship, pitched as being for defense, the RFA Proteus.

The UK's first Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) ship officially launched this April, with plans for another more advanced vessel in the years to come.