Sources tell Bloomberg that Russia has twice deployed attack submarines near the Irish Sea.

Russia has sent Kilo-class attack submarines near the Irish Sea twice since the large-scale invasion began, Bloomberg reported on July 1, citing unnamed sources.

Russian submarines have repeatedly been deployed near the maritime borders of Western enemies. In June, a Russian nuclear submarine arrived in Cuba in what the Russian Defense Ministry described as an exercise. At the same time, U.S. officials described the trip as an attempt by Russia to show that it can still command naval strength after a series of successful Ukrainian attacks on Moscow’s Black Sea fleet.

According to the sources, it has been a little less than two years since a Russian Kilo-class submarine approached the Irish Sea, which separates the island of Ireland from Britain. Another incident occurred more recently, but the sources did not give an exact date.

According to the sources, the US was “aware” of the presence of the submarines in the Irish Sea, but the British Ministry of Defence said it “does not comment on the operations”. The Irish Ministry of Defence also declined to comment.

According to the anonymous sources, the deployment of the submarines could be an “attempt to expose potential vulnerabilities in Britain’s and the Irish Sea’s defences or to intimidate Britain in response to its support for Ukraine.”

Irish media reported in 2023 that a British helicopter and a battleship had “chased away” a Russian submarine off the Irish port of Cork.

Ireland is not a NATO member and has one of the lowest defence spenders in the EU, at around 0.2% of its GDP. As a result, it has effectively outsourced much of its defence to the UK and is unable to respond to maritime threats, such as the presence of Russian submarines off its coast.

Ireland will spend around $13 million to replenish EU weapons stocks in a rare defence investment

Ireland is not a NATO member and has one of the lowest defence spending in the EU at around 0.2 percent of its GDP.