Russia’s Nuclear SUBS Just SURROUNDED UK… What’s REALLY Happening?

The Military Show

Become a Member Today and Unlock EXCLUSIVE Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKfak8fBm_Lhy4eX9UKxEpA/join  Is Britain facing its biggest undersea threat in modern history? Russian submarines and naval vessels are increasingly active in UK waters, prompting over 100 Royal Navy activations in a single year. From the ultra-quiet Yasen-M class to remote seabed submersibles, Moscow’s growing fleet poses a direct risk to critical undersea cables carrying 99% of Britain’s internet and energy. Discover how the Royal Navy, NATO allies, and AUKUS are fighting back to protect vital infrastructure.  ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Russian Submarine Threat to UK Waters 01:04 - Royal Navy Tracks 116 Russian Ships 02:18 - Russia's Yasen-M Nuclear Submarine Capabilities 03:36 - Russian Underwater Drone Networks and Sabotage 04:54 - UK Support for Ukraine Triggers Kremlin Threats 06:08 - Undersea Cables Carrying 99% Britain Internet 07:22 - Russian Spy Ships Mapping Atlantic Cables 08:38 - Economic Impact of UK Internet Blackout 09:52 - Royal Navy Increases Submarine Patrols 25% 11:08 - High North NATO Counter Submarine Operation 12:24 - AUKUS Nuclear Submarines Defense Against Russia 13:38 - Royal Navy Astute Class Submarine Fleet 14:52 - UK Frigate Deal to Counter Russian Navy 16:12 - Is the UK Navy Ready for Russia?  Support us directly as we bring you independent, up-to-date reporting on military news and global conflicts by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMilitaryShow/join  #militarystrategy #militarydevelopments #militaryanalysis #themilitaryshow  SOURCES:  https://pastebin.com/3AiwztPb

Transcript

00:01The UK is surrounded by submarines.

00:04That's the devastating assessment delivered by a member of the UK Parliament

00:08who adds that Russia is trying to do something sinister in the UK's waters.

00:13Undersea cables are the key, kilometres of them, all vulnerable to Russian attack.

00:19So the questions have to be asked, what's really happening?

00:22And what is the UK doing to counter the biggest naval threat it's faced in modern times?

00:29Michelle Scrogem, who is the Member of Parliament for Barrow & Furnace,

00:32as well as the chair of the AUKUS All-Party Parliamentary Group,

00:36made her claim in a September 15th piece for the iPaper,

00:40and she came with numbers to back it up.

00:42According to Scrogem, the past year has seen the Royal Navy get called out 116 times

00:49for shadow Russian warships, merchant vessels and, in some cases, submarines in and around the UK's waters.

00:55All told, she adds, the UK has been forced to track 61 of Russia's warships in a single year,

01:01and it's also had dealings with submarines.

01:04The Telegraph has similar numbers, repeating the claim of 116 Royal Navy activations,

01:10though claiming the number of vessels tracked amounts to almost 90,

01:14rather than the 61 that Scrogem mentions.

01:16What all of this means is that the UK's Navy is being called into action, on average, about twice per

01:22week,

01:23all due to an escalating Russian threat in its waters.

01:26Surrounded by submarines may be a touch hyperbolic,

01:29but it's no lie to say that Russia's entire Navy has become a threat to the UK,

01:33and submarines are perhaps the deadliest aspect of that threat.

01:37Surface vessels can be seen and tracked with relative ease.

01:41However, submarines operating deep under the waves are much harder to track in the first instance,

01:46and far more difficult to corral once they've been discovered.

01:49Before we go deeper, are you enjoying our reporting?

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02:01Moves have to be made, Scrogem argues.

02:04After all, Russia has built one of the world's largest and most impressive submarine fleets

02:09for precisely this type of purpose.

02:11Scrogem herself reveals the basics.

02:14Russia operates one of the world's largest and most modern submarine fleets,

02:19featuring more than two dozen nuclear-powered attack boats,

02:22which has grown steadily more active in the seas around us, she says.

02:26As she points to the Yasin-M as Russia's newest and most dangerous class of submarines.

02:32Designed to be the quietest sub in the Russian arsenal,

02:35the Yasin-M carries Caliber cruise missiles,

02:37which Russia uses constantly against Ukraine,

02:40and which the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance reports

02:43are capable of carrying nuclear warheads up to a weight of 450 kilograms.

02:48With a range of up to 2,500 kilometers,

02:51these missiles could be launched from practically anywhere in the waters surrounding the UK

02:57and still strike targets all over the Kingdom.

03:00But that new submarine is just the most recent threat.

03:03There are many more.

03:04In its examination of Russia's submarine capabilities,

03:08the Nuclear Threat Initiative, or NTI,

03:10says that Russia has an estimated 64 submarines in its fleet,

03:14making it one of the largest undersea fleets in the world.

03:17Of those 64 submarines, 16 are nuclear-powered and capable of firing ballistic missiles,

03:24making them key to Russia's nuclear and strategic deterrence.

03:28The NTI notes that right now Russia's submarines present their greatest threat to Ukraine.

03:33However, there are concerns that they could be used to strike vital infrastructure in the North Atlantic,

03:38including unconfirmed reports that Russia used its submarines to attack the Nord Stream pipeline

03:43and cause significant damage.

03:45That gives us a little clue as to why Russia is sending its submarines and warships to the UK.

03:51It isn't just about having the ability to launch missiles that can strike UK territory.

03:56The national interest also labels Russia's submarine fleet as one of the world's most powerful,

04:01noting that it's also among the most diverse.

04:04Those submarines provide Russia with the ability to monitor both the Pacific and Atlantic regions.

04:09The outlet notes that beyond the latest classes that Scrogan mentions,

04:13Russia has several others, ranging from nuclear-powered submarines to louder, but no less dangerous, diesel-powered subs.

04:20The size of the submarine force alone suggests that Russia will pose a serious undersea challenge to the US and

04:26NATO,

04:27never mind just the UK, and that fleet is growing further.

04:30On top of its crewed submarines, Russia is also starting to build uncrewed submersibles, along with other uncrewed vessels.

04:38In a March report, the Center for Maritime Strategy said that Russia has created an entire underwater surveillance network named

04:45Harmony,

04:46which has seen Russia deploy surface drones, robots that can scan and navigate the seabed,

04:52and deep-diving underwater vehicles that are capable of seabed mapping, protecting Russian infrastructure,

04:57and most worryingly for the UK, carrying out sabotage so deep that it's difficult to spot until it happens.

05:04Some of Russia's undersea vehicles have also entered serial production, including the Galtel and Clavason 1P3,

05:12suggesting that Russia is scaling up an underwater fleet that can be operated remotely and is capable of doing damage

05:18without putting crews at risk.

05:20So Russia clearly represents a danger to any nation with its submarine fleet.

05:24But why the UK?

05:26Scrogram claims that it's the UK that is being surrounded by Russian submarines and warships,

05:31so there has to be a reason, as well as a goal, that those submarines are trying to achieve.

05:36The reason is clear to anybody who has been following the news recently.

05:39Tensions between the UK and Russia have been rising, with Russia escalating to make outright threats against the UK,

05:46seemingly triggered by the UK deciding to share confidential information about storm shadow missiles with Ukraine.

05:53Russia has claimed that the UK is playing with fire, as it threatens a military response,

05:58potentially targeting the UK's drone factories.

06:01Even before that, the UK has been a massive thorn in Russia's side since the moment that Putin invaded Ukraine.

06:07The UK has committed over $33 billion in military aid to Ukraine.

06:12It's also formed a 100-year partnership, covering everything from economic to defensive ventures,

06:18which sends an obvious message to the Kremlin that the UK believes Ukraine will win the war and exist for

06:24decades to come.

06:24The UK is also one of the spearhead nations of the Coalition of the Willing,

06:29which is a collection of more than 30 nations that have committed to forming a peacekeeping force inside Ukraine

06:35that will be put into place when the war with Russia ends.

06:37To say that Russia doesn't like the UK is an understatement.

06:42Russia sees the UK as one of Ukraine's most prominent and vocal supporters,

06:46so it wants to do everything that it can do to diminish that support and minimize the impact the UK

06:51has on its invasion of Ukraine.

06:53With Russia's reason for targeting the UK established,

06:56we come to the purpose of surrounding the UK with submarines and warships.

06:59That purpose isn't to put the UK within the range of the Russian fleet's weapons.

07:04That's a nice little side benefit.

07:06What Russia wants to do is to present a constant threat to something that the UK needs to keep the

07:11entire country running.

07:12The vast network of undersea cables that are essential for communications, internet usage and practically every aspect of modern UK

07:20society.

07:21If Russia targets those cables, it poses a serious threat to the UK.

07:25But before we explain how, you're watching the military show.

07:29If you haven't subscribed to the channel yet, now is the perfect time to hit that button and enable notifications

07:34before we get back to the video.

07:37Scrogan points to the UK's undersea cable network as Russia's primary target, and she explains why.

07:43Beneath the North Atlantic lies 60 fibre optic cables carrying an estimated 99% of Britain's internet traffic, along with

07:52pipelines and power interconnectors that bring much of our energy ashore, she reveals.

07:56In other words, this vast undersea network is what keeps the UK running.

08:00Communications, internet, energy, all vital to the running of a modern country and more pressingly, the operations of a modern

08:07military.

08:09Over the last few years, Russia has been working hard to map undersea cables, not just around the UK, but

08:14across all of Europe.

08:15As far back as November 2025, Sky News reporter Michael Drummond was pointing out that these cables connect the UK

08:22to the rest of Europe, with many of them being located in the English Channel.

08:25Drummond also pointed out that at least one Russian spy ship, named the Yantar, has been spotted and shepherded away

08:32by the Royal Navy several times, including an event in early 2025, when the Yantar had to be shadowed by

08:39the HMS Somerset, as it made its way through the channel.

08:42And that's just one of the ships that the UK can see.

08:45Under the waves, there may well be submarines working to map undersea cables.

08:49Drummond claims that Russia already has a pretty good idea of where most of the important cables are due to

08:54these efforts.

08:55And that knowledge sets the stage for sabotage attacks, ranging from dragging anchors over those cables to deploying submersibles to

09:02sabotage them.

09:04Russia is practicing these types of attacks, and in some cases, it's already pulling them off.

09:09Verania Kodrian, who is the head of strategy at Euro Atlas, tells UK outlet LBC that her organization has been

09:16warning about the threat that Russia poses to the UK's undersea infrastructure for several years.

09:21Adding that an incident earlier in 2026, which saw the UK and Norway deploy into high north waters to disrupt

09:27a Russian submarine operation, is a perfect example of what she's talking about.

09:31We'll dig deeper into that operation in a moment, but the point of it all is that Russia is engaging

09:36in Grey's own warfare across Europe and the UK's critical infrastructure is a prime target.

09:41Especially in places like the seabed, where there is little visibility and the network of infrastructure is so vast that

09:47persistent monitoring is extremely difficult, Kodrian says.

09:50Though that incident didn't amount to any real damage and was more likely a practice run for Russia, the Kremlin

09:56has already achieved success elsewhere.

09:59The China Strategy Risks Institute examined 12 suspected undersea cable sabotage attempts between January 2021 and April 25, noting that

10:10of the 10 that involved identified vessels, eight could be linked to either Russia or China based on flags or

10:16ownership.

10:17So this concept of Russia attacking undersea infrastructure isn't some far-flung theory, it's actively happening as we speak, and

10:24according to Scrogram, the UK is Russia's next target.

10:28If Russia is allowed to follow through on its plans, it could devastate the UK.

10:33Imagine one day that the internet just completely disappears. This isn't a minor outage. It lasts for days or even

10:39weeks, all because some undersea cables have been severed.

10:42You wouldn't even be able to send an email. Anything you have stored in the cloud becomes inaccessible.

10:48Practically every business and governmental organization is forced into panic mode, as the web has been integrated into every aspect

10:54of modern living.

10:55As for the military, any comms that involve the internet are shut down, which frankly is going to be most

11:00of them.

11:01Telecommunications outside of the internet would also be a risk as smartphones and other mobile devices go offline.

11:07This is an internet shutdown used as a weapon of war, and the impact would be devastating.

11:12If we focus solely on the economic impact, London Loves Tech says that even a 24-hour shutdown would cost

11:19the UK's economy about $2.1 billion.

11:22Russia would only need to shut the UK down for a little over two weeks, and it would essentially do

11:27the equivalent of the UK's total Ukraine aid budget to the country's economy.

11:32Backup systems could help. Landlines could offer telephone communications, though they're becoming rarer in the UK.

11:37In 2024, the number of UK households with landlines dropped to below 50%, hitting 47%, as most are happy to

11:45use their smartphones rather than rely on analog communications.

11:49Satellite internet could provide some relief, especially for a military that is dealing with a massive comms issue.

11:54But switching to satellites when cable-based internet was used before takes time, which Russia could exploit to follow up

12:01with other attacks.

12:02What we're seeing as Russia surrounds the UK with submarines and warships is the foundation being laid for attacks that

12:08could cripple the UK.

12:09And even if the impact is temporary, it would be enough to give Russia a clear advantage in any conflict

12:14that arises between the two.

12:16And so we come to the big question, what is the UK doing about all of this?

12:20For one, the Royal Navy is actively stepping up its patrols as a preemptive measure to help it spot Russia's

12:26sneaky vessels faster.

12:28Those patrols have risen by 25%, national security news reported on August 12th, noting that British warships and helicopters spent

12:3621 days out of 31 in July monitoring Russian vessels in the UK waters and the North Atlantic.

12:43This is an important step. If the UK shows the Kremlin that it's watching constantly, then it becomes harder for

12:49Russia to pull off the sort of cable attack that could plunge the UK into darkness.

12:53We also mentioned an incident in the high north involving the UK and Norway.

12:57That incident happened in April and involved the UK deploying warships and aircraft alongside Norway and with assistance from the

13:05US to track and monitor undersea naval units deployed by Russia's main directorate of deep sea research or GUGI.

13:12The UK sent the Type 23 frigate HMS St Albans alongside Merlin helicopters and RFA Tidespring to confront Russian submersibles.

13:22It was later revealed that GUGI may have been practicing the deployment of a top secret weapon that would allow

13:28it to sabotage undersea cables without leaving any evidence behind.

13:32The nature of this weapon hasn't been revealed, meaning it could be something as simple as a mechanical grabber through

13:38to some sort of electronic warfare device designed to disrupt those cables.

13:41In this instance, the UK managed to chase Russia away, but it took a three country effort and the cost

13:47of deployment to make it happen.

13:49What this incident reveals is that Scrogram is right about Russian submarines operating in the waters that impact the UK.

13:55In her article, she added that the UK is doing more besides these types of deployments to keep Russia at

14:00bay.

14:01Specifically, she mentions AUKUS.

14:03The partnership between the US, UK and Australia involves building a new class of nuclear-powered submarines from which all

14:10three can benefit.

14:10The program began in 2021, and as Scrogram points out, its value is not confined to peacetime deterrence.

14:17Where conflict to reach NATO's eastern flank, the defense of Europe would depend on keeping the sea lanes of the

14:22North Atlantic open for Allied reinforcements,

14:25and on hunting Russian submarines that could launch missiles at Britain or its allies.

14:29However, we can't be too quick to assume that AUKUS will be able to solve every problem that the UK

14:34has with Russia's submarines.

14:35For one thing, there is red tape in the UK that is holding up the purchase of new submarines.

14:40In a September 12 report, the Telegraph revealed that the UK government has delayed the building of the new attack

14:45submarines until 2028, likely as a budgetary measure.

14:49Given the immediacy of the problem that Scrogram discusses in her iPaper piece, that seems like a strange decision.

14:55Still, AUKUS is pressing ahead.

14:57The UK's defense investment plan, which was published in the summer, has revealed that Rolls-Royce will be building the

15:03complete nuclear propulsion units for the submarines being designed as part of AUKUS.

15:07It's also anticipated that the first of these submarines will enter the Royal Navy at some point in the late

15:122030s.

15:13For some, that might seem like too long to wait.

15:16A decade or more for this project to come to fruition is worrying when it's clear that Russia is actively

15:21doing sinister things in and around the UK waters right now.

15:25But the UK is far from defenseless on the submarine front, even as it waits for AUKUS to bear fruit.

15:31The Royal Navy operates a fleet of six astute-class nuclear-powered submarines, though it's rare for all of them

15:37to be operational at the same time.

15:39Still, these subs are among the quietest that any European country has and, due to being nuclear-powered, they have

15:45almost unlimited range.

15:47The subs need to be replenished with food and supplies every 90 days, but beyond that, they're an excellent choice

15:52if the UK feels the need to start shadowing Russian submarines that it detects in its territory.

15:57The partnership between the UK and Norway is also deepening.

16:01In August 2025, Norway signed a $13.3 billion deal to have the UK build several Type 26 frigates, which

16:09are anti-submarine warships.

16:10For the UK, this is almost as good as building those warships for itself, as the High North incident shows

16:15that the UK and Norway are actively working together to confront the Russian threat.

16:20Scrogram also notes that the UK is working alongside Japan and Italy on something called the Global Combat Air Programme,

16:27which exists to develop the next generation of combat aircraft that the UK will use.

16:32What all of this shows us is that steps are being put in place to counter the Russian threat.

16:36And in taking these steps, the UK is also building up its industrial base, perhaps setting up for the strengthening

16:42of its own fleet in the future.

16:44But then, that's the problem. In the future.

16:47The UK is still playing catch-up. In the present, Russia still has a much larger submarine fleet.

16:52Russia is also actively engaging in the very types of activities that these future programmes are designed to protect the

16:58UK against.

16:59And though the UK is extremely active in monitoring Russia's naval activities, it would only take one or two of

17:05the many warships or submarines to slip through the net and undersea cables could be cut.

17:11Something sinister is happening in and around the UK's waters.

17:14The question now is, how ready is the UK to deal with it?

17:18The one thing the UK can rely on is that Ukraine is doing everything that it can to weaken Russia's

17:23navy.

17:23We saw that on September 9th, when a combined missile and drone strike against the Black Sea Fleet Base in

17:29Novorossiysk hit the Russian Navy hard.

17:32Find out what happened by watching our video.

17:34But before you go, subscribe and tell us what you think in the comments below.

17:38And if you want even more from the channel, consider becoming a member for access to exclusive content.

17:43And thank you, as always, for watching.

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