Russian attack submarines carried out secret operations in Irish Sea

Russian submarines have been making their presence felt in the Irish Sea - AFP/Yamil Lage

Russian submarines twice conducted unprecedented missions in the Irish Sea after Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, it has emerged.

UK forces moved to protect British and Irish waters after the two deployments of the Kilo-class attack subs. One was about 18 months ago, while the other was more recent.

The extent of the Russian submarine movements went beyond what UK officials had previously seen, Bloomberg reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter.

Kilo-class submarines can fire Russian Kalibr cruise missiles, torpedoes and lay mines.

Russia has more than 60 Kilo-class submarines, which have a top speed of 17 knots while surfaced, or 20 knots submerged, and have been used to attack Ukraine from the Black Sea.

The US Naval Institute says Kilo is “one of the most successful naval programs in modern history”.

US officials were reported to be aware of the movements, which could be an effort to intimidate Britain over its support for Ukraine or to identify weaknesses in British and Irish defence.

It would be difficult for a Russian submarine to navigate the Irish Sea without breaking international law because legally they can only travel on the surface of territorial waters.

The varying depths of the Irish Sea would make it difficult for a Russian vessel to travel in the waters submerged, Bloomberg reported.

The deployment of Russian submarines in waters around Britain and western Ireland during the war in Ukraine was known. However, it had not been previously reported that they had travelled in the Irish Sea which separates Britain from Ireland.

Irish media reported that a British warship and helicopter chased off a Russian submarine outside Cork Harbour in the south west of Ireland. The UK reportedly stepped in because Irish forces could not meet the underwater threat in Cork, which is the landing point for an undersea cable linking the UK and Canada.

Last month, the BBC reported that a Russian submarine had been spotted off the coast of Scotland before travelling on to Cuba. At the same time Russian state media reported that navy assets, including the Yasen-class Kazan submarine, conducted drills in the Atlantic Ocean before visiting the Caribbean country.

The Yasen-class Kazan submarine was part of a Russian naval detachment visiting Cuba in June - Getty Images/Adalberto Roque

The Ministry of Defence told Bloomberg it doesn’t comment on operations, while the White House also refused to comment. Russia’s Defence Ministry also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An Irish defence department spokesman said it would not comment on other countries’ operations. Without linking it to the submarine reports, the official said offshore energy infrastructure in the Irish Sea was under extra patrols and governments were also discussing the protection of data cables.

Many European governments moved to bolster security around their offshore energy infrastructure after suspected Russian sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in 2022.

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