The United Kingdom has increased its efforts to protect critical undersea infrastructure after monitoring a Russian spy ship, Yantar, which entered British waters this week.

The vessel, known for its role in intelligence gathering and mapping the sea floor, was tracked by the Royal Navy for two days before it moved into Dutch waters.

The British government, led by Defence Minister John Healey, emphasized the growing concerns over the vulnerability of undersea power cables, telecom links, and gas pipelines.

These concerns intensified following a series of outages in the Baltic Sea, which have been linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In response, Britain has bolstered its protective measures, including deploying maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft to aid NATO's efforts in the Baltic.

Additionally, a sophisticated AI system will be used to enhance monitoring of undersea infrastructure.

Healey also announced that the UK's Royal Navy had changed its rules of engagement to allow closer tracking of Russian vessels like Yantar, and had authorized a Royal Navy submarine to surface near the ship as a deterrent.

The Russian embassy in London did not comment on the incident.