The Royal Navy has been monitoring a Russian spy ship after it was spotted around UK waters earlier this week, the defence secretary has told MPs. John Healey said the vessel, Yantar, was used for gathering intelligence and mapping the UK's critical underwater infrastructure.

The British defense secretary told Parliament that the Yantar, which he described as a Russian spy ship, had come near Britain’s coast for the second time in a few months.

A British official sent a public warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday after the Royal Navy started tracking the Russian spy vessel Yantar in British waters this week.