Brittany, France — Russia has dismissed reports that one of its submarines was forced to surface off the coast of France due to technical problems, describing the claims as “false and unfounded” amid heightened tensions with NATO.
NATO’s Maritime Command released photographs on October 9 showing a French Navy frigate monitoring what it said was a Russian submarine operating on the surface near Brittany. The incident occurred as Western militaries remain on alert following a series of mysterious drone incursions into NATO airspace that officials have partly attributed to Moscow.
In a statement carried by Russia’s state news agency TASS, the Black Sea Fleet said the Novorossiysk, a diesel-electric attack submarine, was “conducting a routine inter-fleet transfer” from the Mediterranean and had surfaced in accordance with international maritime law. “Reports by some media outlets of an alleged malfunction that caused the submarine to make an emergency surface off the coast of France are false,” the fleet said.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), submarines must transit the English Channel on the surface and display their national flag, as the waterway qualifies as an international strait.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), NATO’s Maritime Command confirmed the French Navy had conducted “surveillance of the Alliance’s maritime approaches” during the Russian submarine’s passage. “NATO stands ready to defend our Alliance with constant vigilance and maritime awareness across the Atlantic,” the statement read.
The appearance of the Russian vessel coincides with NATO’s annual “Steadfast Noon” nuclear readiness exercise, which began Monday. The two-week drill, led by the Netherlands, involves 71 aircraft from 14 allied nations and is designed to test procedures for securing and deploying nuclear weapons. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the exercise underscores the alliance’s commitment to deterrence amid a “deteriorating European security environment.”
Meanwhile, in Poland, prosecutors announced that two Russian citizens have been charged with espionage on behalf of Moscow’s intelligence services. One of them, identified as Igor R., was also accused of plotting to send a parcel bomb containing military-grade explosives. Authorities say the device included nitroglycerine and detonators, forming a “shaped charge bomb.”
The charges come amid heightened scrutiny of Russian intelligence activities in Europe, following a wave of explosive packages sent to courier depots in Britain, Germany, and Poland in 2024. Western officials have blamed those incidents on Russia, allegations the Kremlin continues to deny.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 10, did not directly address the submarine incident but reiterated that Moscow would continue to assert its maritime and security interests “within the bounds of international law.”
The Novorossiysk, which entered service in 2014, is one of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet submarines equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles, a key component of the country’s naval strike capability.
