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How Putin’s stealth subs could cripple the West by cutting undersea cables as Russian boat crashes into UK warship

VLADIMIR Putin's shadowy fleet of submarines could cripple the West by cutting vital undersea cables.

The warning comes as Royal Navy frigate HMS Northumberland struck one of Russia's "hunter killer" submarines in the icy North Atlantic.

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The Type-23's sonar array dragged across Putin's boat's hull after the warship was deployed to search for the submarine during the mission in 2020.

It was feared that the Russians would be trying to cut undersea cables that are essential for internet and communication in the UK.

Putin is known to have a number of specialist submarines dedicated to the task.

The vessels are operated by a shadowy branch of the Russian military that answers directly to Putin - with a mission to deliver a catastrophic blow to the West.

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The Losharik spy subs are carried underneath beneath an enormous "mothership" undersea Belgorod vessel and are built to lurk at the bottom of the ocean.

They enter the Atlantic by sailing down from the Arctic.

And the vessels then use robotic arms to tamper with or even cut key cables that help keep the world's economy moving with potentially devastating consequences.

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Cutting the undersea cables could be a key element in any conflict between the two sides - especially amid simmering tensions in Eastern Europe.

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Undersea cables crisscrossing the seafloor carry 97 per cent of internet traffic with $10 trillion worth of daily financial transactions dependent on them.

Cutting enough of the network in the Atlantic could cause chaos for Britain, with Air Marshall Sir Stuart Peach previously warning such a breach could be "catastrophic".

It could shut down the internet, cut Britain off from the rest of the world, paralyse financial transactions, and damage communications with the military overseas.

And the US is also under threat, with a report Director of National Intelligence urging Washington to push for stronger protections for the undersea cables.

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The US Government is reliant on the cables to transfer information with their NATO allies - and as well as cutting them, its also feared Russia or other state actors could tap into the cables to steal information.

Defence expert Rob Clark from the Henry Jackson Society told The Sun Online “the threat is very real” from the secretive Russian subs.

“Their aim is to retain the credible capability either to disrupt or destroy the cables that the UK’s economy and its entire communications rely on,” he warned.

“Even slightly damaged that can cause untold chaos and disruption to the UK.”

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A rare picture of what is believed to a Losharik submarine, launched from the Belgorod
The giant Belgorod 'mothership' submarineCredit: Getty - Contributor

And the cables are not hard to find, with their locations being open to the public as global shipping networks have to be aware of their locations.

The dire warning comes as it emerged the threat is being taken so seriously that the Royal Navy has recently ordered a special surveillance ship to protect cables from the Russians.

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