The Russian submarine was tracking the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier strike group of the British Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, according to the Daily Telegraph. The incident is said to have occurred on June 27 off the coast of Cyprus, just four days after the British warship HMS Defender was evicted out of the Crimean Waters by the Russian forces in the Black Sea.
The publication claims that it was a diesel-electric submarine of the Russian Black Sea Fleet of the Kilo Class (as NATO calls the Russian submarines of projects 877 and 636 Varshavyanka).
As the HMS Queen Elizabeth strike group passed the Eastern Mediterranean, two anti-submarine Merlin Mk2 helicopters were airborne in search of the submarine. They dropped sonar buoys, equipment designed to be submerged in order to detect submarines, believing that she was monitoring the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.
One of the helicopters was launched from the aircraft carrier and the second from the support vessel Fort Victoria. At the same time, it is not known whether the American destroyer USS The Sullivans or the Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen took part in this operation.
The British Defense Ministry declined to comment on the incident, saying only that they are taking various measures to protect the aircraft carrier group. The Russian Ministery of Defence has also not commented on the issue.