In brief

• Britain is preparing a naval and military coalition with northern European partners within the Joint Expeditionary Force.
• The alignment targets Russian submarine activity in the North Atlantic, Arctic and Baltic Sea.
• Britain's chief of defence staff warned of growing Russian threats, including sabotage, cyberattacks and targeted killings.

Coalition aimed at Russian submarines

The Financial Times reports that London and its partners plan to put the new arrangement into practice within the Joint Expeditionary Force, which Britain leads (Британія об’єднується з країнами Півночі: для стримування РФ готують новий військовий альянс – Espreso). The main focus would be countering Russian submarines in the North Atlantic, the Arctic and the Baltic Sea.

From statements to joint operations

Members intend to move beyond general declarations toward practical cooperation, including closer coordination between navy, air and land forces. The strategic weight of the North Atlantic and Arctic for NATO has been growing, the report notes, partly because melting ice is opening new sea routes and because the region hosts important undersea communications cables.

London's warning

Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton said Russia poses a growing threat that requires stronger countermeasures. He acknowledged that Britain lags some other European states in understanding the scale of that threat and announced further steps against Russian submarines in the North Atlantic.

Knighton pointed to Russian state activity in Europe and in Britain, citing targeted killings, sabotage and cyberattacks, and said Britain has evidence of such operations.