Defence secretary John Healey issued a stern warning to Vladimir Putin, after he said the Russian spy ship Yantar, operating on the edge of UK waters, directed lasers at pilots of surveillance RAF aircraft monitoring its activities.
Mr Healey told a press conference on Wednesday (19 November) that the ship, designed for gathering intelligence and mapping crucial undersea cables, is loitering off the northern coast of Scotland, having entered wider UK waters over the last few weeks. A Royal Navy frigate and RAF P-8 planes were deployed to monitor and track the vessel, during which the Yantar directed lasers at RAF pilots, he added.
In a message to the Russian leader, Mr Healey said: "We see you. We know what you are doing."
