NATO allies foil Russian subsea cable sabotage plot

LONDON/WASHINGTON – Deep in Arctic waters near the remote Svalbard archipelago in Norway this spring, NATO allies caught Russian subs training to unleash a secret weapon designed to disable critical undersea cables without leaving any fingerprints.

The clandestine Russian operation, described by two Western officials, was carried out by Moscow’s GUGI undersea warfare directorate, which used deep-sea submersibles to simulate the deployment of the sophisticated and destructive technology.

A joint operation involving Britain, Norway and the United States tracked and confronted the Russian vessels at sea, said the two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The vessels were prevented from completing their exercise and eventually left the area.