Yes. According to a Sept. 10, 2026 Reuters exclusive citing two Western officials, Britain, Norway and the United States tracked and confronted Russian vessels near the Svalbard archipelago during a spring exercise run by Russia’s GUGI deep-sea directorate. Officials said the exercise simulated deploying technology meant to disable undersea cables without leaving clear forensic traces; the vessels were stopped from finishing the drill and left the area, and no cables were damaged.
Norway’s Defence Minister Tore Sandvik said the joint operation showed Russia it cannot operate covertly against critical infrastructure. Britain and Norway had disclosed related Arctic activity in April, but Reuters reported that the new weapon details, the Svalbard location and U.S. involvement had not previously been public.
Source: EXCLUSIVE: NATO allies foil Russian subsea cable sabotage plot — Reuters