Russian Attack Submarines Spotted Twice Near Irish Sea – Bloomberg

Russian attack submarines were twice seen near the Irish Sea, – Bloomberg Dmitry Usik

Russian submarines near Ireland/Collage 24 Channels

At the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian attack submarines twice conducted missions around the Irish Sea. This move forced Britain to take measures to protect surrounding waters.

This was reported by Bloomberg, citing three sources familiar with the situation. It is noted that US officials knew about the movement of Russian submarines. The British Ministry of Defense refused to comment on the operations.

Russian submarines in the Irish Sea

A Russian Kilo-class submarine was first spotted near the Irish Sea about 18 months ago. The second time this happened was just recently. Sources told reporters that the scale of the submarine's movements went beyond what British officials had previously seen.

That Russian submarines were operating in the waters around the United Kingdom and Western Ireland during the war in Ukraine was known before. However, it was not previously noted that these submarines were moving towards the Irish Sea. In 2023, Irish media reported that a British helicopter and warship had successfully “drove off” a Russian submarine near Cork Harbor in the southwest of the country.

Sources note that the submarine deployment around Britain and Ireland may be an attempt to expose potential weaknesses in Britain's defenses and the Irish Sea, or an attempt to intimidate the country in response to its support for Ukraine.

Let us note that in early June, The Times wrote that NATO fears possible Russian sabotage off the coast of Ireland. It was expected that the state might attack undersea cables and pipelines near Ireland. Russian attack submarines are frequently present in the country's international waters.