Britain warns Russia after spy ship approaches its waters:

London — Britain warned Russia on Wednesday that it was ready to confront any incursions into its territory after the Yantar spy ship was detected at the edge of British waters north of Scotland.

Defense Secretary John Healey said the Russian ship had directed lasers at surveillance aircraft pilots monitoring its activities.

“This is the first time we have had this action by Yantar directed against the British RAF. We take it very seriously,” Healey said, according to the Reuters news agency.

“My message to Russia and Putin is this: We see you. We know what you are doing,” Healey said during a briefing in London. “And if the Yantar heads south this week, we’re ready.”

“We have military options prepared in case the Yantar changes course,” he said, as quoted by Reuters.

British officials said the Yantar is part of the Russian navy, designed to carry out peacetime surveillance and wartime sabotage. Because of this, the United Kingdom and its allies track the ship and work to deter its operations whenever it approaches British territorial waters.

“It is part of a Russian fleet designed to put and maintain our submarine infrastructure and that of our allies at risk,” Healey said, referring to Attacks on pipelines and cables under the Baltic Sea earlier this year..

This is not the first time the Yantar has explored British defences, Healey said. After a warning last year, the Yantar left UK waters for the Mediterranean. When the Russian ship later sailed through the English Channel in January, it was followed by HMS Somerset, a frigate assigned to national defense in the waters surrounding Britain.