"We are holding on, but not for long". Britain sees a threat of losing the Atlantic to Russia

The UK is close to losing the Atlantic to Russia for the first time since the end of World War II. This was stated by the Commander of the British Navy Gwyn Jenkins at the International Conference on Naval Power, reports The Times .

According to the British newspaper, the general used the conference in London to issue "one of the starkest warnings yet" about Britain's capabilities at sea amid the growing threat of submarine attack.

He said the Royal Navy will have a hard time keeping up without rapid transformation and support from NATO allies.

"The advantage that we've had in the Atlantic since the end of the Cold War, World War II, is under threat. We're hanging on, but not for long," Jenkins said .

He emphasized that we need to be more active in this matter, otherwise this advantage will be lost, and this cannot be allowed.

Jenkins noted that Russia has invested "billions" in its maritime capabilities, particularly in the Northern Fleet, "despite the millions of lives and the cost of their blatant illegal invasion of Ukraine.".

He emphasized that over the past two years there has been a 30% increase in the number of incursions by Russian forces into British waters, including the "visible presence" of spy ships such as the Yantar, which is suspected of mapping submarine cables .

Speaking about the threat posed by Russia, Jenkins said that Yantar is "just the visible part," but it is not the most worrisome part.

He is most concerned about "what is happening under the waves".

Jenkins said the UK is fighting a war in the "undersea battlespace" with new technologies such as autonomous underwater gliders that can detect enemy submarines and the " Atlantic Bastion ", a series of autonomous sensors that will serve as "our eyes and ears", which will be contracted in 2026.

• In early December, it became known that Britain and Norway were preparing to sign a defense treaty to create a joint navy to track Russian submarines in the North Atlantic. The goal is to protect undersea internet cables and pipelines, as the number of Russian ships near Britain has increased by 30% over the past two years .