Russian navy expected to sail into Irish waters again this month
The Getty Ustinov Marshal And The Naval Vice Vessels Kulakov Picture: Admiral Russian
The Russian navy is due to return off Irish waters this month as part of its annual show of military strength in the North Atlantic and to map critical data cables, military sources have said.
Russian naval activity in January and February 2022 near Irish-controlled waters caused a national and international security incident and highlighted the lack of a visible presence by the naval service.
The development comes as an Oireachtas report said that the naval service only has two-thirds of its sanctioned strength, with a similar impact on patrols.
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Protests by Irish fishermen in late January 2022 led to Russian authorities moving their exercise from well inside the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) — waters controlled by Ireland — to just along the EEZ borders.
The exercise took place just before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and was seen by the EU and Nato as a provocative show of naval strength.
Military sources said Russia’s annual ‘Ocean’ exercise was due to include naval activity off the south west coast of Ireland again this month, though they expect it to be “much smaller” this year.
Experts say there are two purposes to these Russian exercises in the North Atlantic. The first is strategic, to be visibly present in the so-called GIUK gap, between Greenland, Iceland, Ireland and Britain, a major sea supply route.
The second is to conduct manoeuvres around the cluster of cables off the south west coast of Ireland, mapping their location
Imagery posted yesterday shows Russian naval exercises off the south west coast of Britain and north west coast of France.
Sources say the Russian navy is “struggling”, with maintenance and refuelling a major problem. Its submarine patrols are thought to be continuing.
In a recent paper, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said Russia has several advanced submarines capable of operating “at extreme depths” and equipped with “manipulator arms” for interacting with undersea cables.
An Oireachtas Parliamentary Budget Office report said Ireland has the “lowest level” of spend on defence when contrasted to eight other comparable EU countries — and that the budget will still be less than half of the amount they spend even after Government plans to increase expenditure by 2028.
The report said that given “increased geopolitical uncertainty and increased military conflicts” across the world a proper assessment of the financial requirements of the Naval Service was “essential”.