The United Kingdom announced last Thursday that it had employed antisubmarine warfare forces to disrupt Russia’s targeting of its undersea infrastructure.

The plot involved a spy submarine from Russia’s GUGI naval intelligence service attempting to tap or otherwise precisely chart undersea cables and pipelines. The intent of this operation was to allow Russia to sever these supply links on President Vladimir Putin’s future orders, badly damaging the U.K.’s energy and communications infrastructure. In an effort to deflect attention away from the GUGI submarine, Russia simultaneously deployed an Akula-class attack submarine toward the U.K.