Updated

The UK, Norway and the US reportedly tracked Russian submarines conducting tests of a secret weapon near the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, according to Ukrainska Pravda. Western officials believe the weapon could be used to target critical undersea cables, adding to concerns about Russian sabotage capabilities in the North Atlantic and Arctic regions. Reuters has since reported that Russian military personnel also attempted to test technology designed to disable undersea communications cables in the northern Atlantic Ocean in April, according to two Western officials speaking anonymously. The report suggests a broader pattern of Russian efforts to develop undersea cable-disabling capabilities beyond the Svalbard area, raising further alarm among NATO allies about threats to critical infrastructure.