British and Norwegian militaries led a weekslong operation to deter Russian submarines in the North Atlantic, the U.K. military said.

Russia deployed three submarines to spy on the UK’s critical undersea pipelines in the northern Atlantic, British officials revealed on Thursday. UK Defense Secretary John Healey called out Russian President Vladimir Putin as he accused the Kremlin of using three underwater vessels to gather information on Britain following previous sabotage attempts in Europe.

By Muvija M and Catarina Demony LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - Britain deployed military vessels to prevent any attacks on cables and pipelines by Russian submarines that spent more than a month in and around British waters earlier this year,