Chair of the NATO military committee Air Chief Marshall Sir Stuart Peach says Russian ships have been spotted close to Atlantic cables that carry communications between Europe and the US.
Russia could pose a major threat to the UK and other NATO nations by cutting underwater cables essential for commerce and the internet, Peach warned.
Peach, a senior UK Royal Air Force officer, said Russia had continued to develop unconventional warfare. He added that threats such as those to underwater cables meant the UK and its allies had to match the Russian Navy in terms of fleet modernisation.
He said: “There is a new risk to our prosperity and way of life, to the cables that criss-cross our sea beds, disruption to which through cable-cuts or destruction would immediately and catastrophically fracture both international trade and the internet.”
The warning came a fortnight after the thinktank Policy Exchange issued a report saying 97% of global communications were transmitted through such cables.
Despite the warnings, the Russian ships could just be engaged in tapping into the cables to intercept communication to gather intelligence.
Rishi Sunak MP warned earlier this month that a successful attack on the UK’s network of undersea communications cables could deal a “crippling blow” to the country’s security and economy.
