Russia’s Interference with NATO’s Undersea Cables
By Jeff G. Gilmour, 22 April 2026
A recent analysis by the BBC pointed out that the UK is especially dependent on its undersea cables and pipelines for both its data and its energy.[1] More than 90 per cent of internet traffic travels by these undersea cables. There are ‘clusters’ where these cables come ashore from both the Atlantic and the North Sea. About 60 cables connect the UK to global networks. It is next to impossible to monitor every metre of these undersea cables that lie at the bottom of the ocean.
Recently, Russia has become very interested in these underwater cables. GUGI, or more formally the Main Directorate for Deep-Sea Research, which was established in the 1960s, is unofficially known as the ‘underwater spetsnaz’ (i.e., Soviet/Russian elite special forces).[2] The outfit consists of smaller submarines, launched from a mother ship, which have manipulative arms that can cut cables. In addition, it has nuclear submarines which can spy on the location of these cables or place monitoring devices on the sea floor.
A 2025 report from the UK’s Committee on National Security said that it wasn’t confident the country could prevent such attacks or recover within an acceptance time period.[3] Ken Giles, a Russian expert at Chatham House, told the BBC that potential sabotage to cables should not be seen as an isolated phenomenon. It should, rather be seen as part of a program of targeting critical communications infrastructure by Russia.[4]
Royal Navy vessels were deployed to monitor Russian activity in the region and to prevent any attacks on British cables and pipelines by Russian submarines that spent more than a month in the north and around the British Isles and the North Sea earlier in the year.[5]
Britain accused Russia of using the distraction of events in the Middle East to try and conduct covert operations in the north.
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Latest CNR: Vol. 21 No. 3 (2026)
Happy New Year! Now that January is here, we all need something to look forward to – other than bills for all those things you bought for Christmas! Fret no longer, you can look forward to the upcoming CNR issue.
As usual, the new issue of CNR contains a variety of interesting articles. Our first article was the winning essay of the 2025 CNMT Essay Competition. It’s called “Pirates and Partnerships: An Examination of Maritime Non-State Actors,” by Edward Khitab. Khitab uses the example of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to examine the nature and increasing number of maritime non-state actors -- and concludes that the RCN needs to start paying attention to them.
The second article, “The Strategic Utility of Aircraft Carriers in China’s Ambitions in East Asia,” discusses the rapid growth of China’s aircraft carrier capability and how and where Beijing would likely use them in the case of war. The third article is “Why Does Canada have a Navy? Reflecting on the Canadian Leaders at Sea Program.” In this article, the author addresses a simple question that was asked while he was participating in the CLaS program, and considers what a navy represents and why Canada has one. The final essay, “SS Nerissa: A Tragic Footnote to History,” tells the little-known story of the last voyage of SS Nerissa that was sunk by a U-boat while transporting troops and civilians across the Atlantic in the Second World War.
If that isn’t enough to spark your interest, we have our usual Making Waves commentaries. We have a commentary about hydrography in the Arctic. Sound boring? It’s not. If Canada is getting submarines that are expected to operate in the Arctic, Ottawa needs to act now to map the seafloor there. We have a commentary about the many historic discussions about moving the Coast Guard into the defence department. We have a commentary about the unthinkable – i.e., having naval ships that can act as ‘tripwires’ in the event that the United States decides to blockade Canada. We have an account of a conference in Australia, Canadian interest in East Asia, and preparing for Russia in the Arctic.
And, of course, we have our regular columns. “A View from the West” looks at North Korea’s increasing focus on its navy. “Dollars and Sense” examines the defence-related parts of Budget 2025, and “Warship Developments” updates us on several interesting recent naval decisions.
In addition to all this great information, we have our usual amazing photos!
Stay tuned. In a few weeks, the issue will be in the mailbox of people who are lucky enough to be subscribers! It’s not too late for you to subscribe. See here for the Table of Contents.
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