The Ministry of Defence is staying tight-lipped, but I can reveal a serious game of cat and mouse unfolding off the English coast. A Russian naval task force, including a submarine and two surface vessels, has been detected testing the boundaries of UK sovereign waters. This is not a routine passage. This is a probe. A deliberate flex of naval muscle.
Defence sources tell me the Russian ships lingered just outside the 12-mile territorial limit, manoeuvring erratically. The implication is clear: Moscow wants to see how far it can push. The Royal Navy dispatched a Type 45 destroyer to monitor the situation. A game of brinksmanship in the Channel.
Whitehall is nervous. This comes at a time when the government is already battered by internal strife. The timing is no coincidence. The Kremlin knows a distracted Britain is a vulnerable Britain. The Prime Minister's office has declined to comment, but I'm told the National Security Council has been convened.
The key here is the submarine. It went dark for 36 hours. That is deeply concerning. The Royal Navy's sub-hunters were scrambled, but the lack of public acknowledgement suggests they may have lost track of it. One source described the situation as 'a very close-run thing.'
The political fallout is just as significant. The government cannot afford to look weak. The Labour opposition will demand a full statement. The reaction in the Tory backbenches will be even more explosive. Many MPs already feel the government is too soft on defence spending. This incident will pour fuel on that fire.
Meanwhile, the Russian ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office for a dressing down. But what does that achieve? The real question is whether the UK has the naval capacity to deter such provocations. Our destroyer fleet is stretched thin. The frigate numbers are woeful. The new frigate programme is years behind schedule.
This is the reality of post-Brexit Britain. A nation with global aspirations but shrinking military means. The Russians know this. They have mapped our weaknesses. This is not a one-off. This is the new normal.
Watch for more leaks from the Ministry of Defence over the next 48 hours. The government will try to spin this as routine. It is not. This is the most serious test of UK maritime sovereignty since the Cold War. The stakes could not be higher.
