Russia responds after claims its submarine surfaced off the coast of France

Russia has denied a report that one of its submarines was suffering technical problems after the vessel surfaced off the coast of northern France.

NATO's Maritime Command published photographs on October 9 of what it said was a French navy frigate observing a Russian submarine operating on the surface off the coast of Brittany.

"NATO stands ready to defend our Alliance with constant vigilance and maritime awareness across the Atlantic," it posted on X, without naming the submarine.

VChK-OGPU, a shadowy Telegram channel that publishes purported Russian security leaks, reported last month that the diesel-powered submarine Novorossiysk was suffering serious technical problems, with fuel leaking into the hold.

On Monday, state media published a statement from Russia's Black Sea Fleet denying that the Novorossiysk had surfaced off France because of a technical emergency.

It said that the submarine was carrying out a scheduled transit after completing tasks in the Mediterranean Sea, and had surfaced in line with international navigation rules in the English Channel.

State news agency TASS said the vessel, which entered service in 2014, was part of a group of submarines that carry Kalibr cruise missiles.

Meanwhile in Poland, prosecutors have charged two Russian citizens with spying for Russian intelligence and one of them for plotting to send a parcel of explosives, prosecutors said on Monday.

European authorities have been on high alert for explosive packages since a series of explosions in courier depots in Britain, Germany and near the Polish capital Warsaw in July 2024. Western officials blamed those incidents on Russia.

Moscow denies the accusations.

One of the Russians, referred to as Igor R. under Polish privacy laws, was charged with participating in a plot to send a parcel bomb via courier, for which a Ukrainian citizen was also charged earlier this year.

"The parcel contained explosive devices and materials in the form of nitroglycerine, as well as hidden military-grade electric detonators and initiating devices... The entire package constituted a so-called shaped charge bomb," prosecutors said.

Igor R. and his wife Irina were also charged with providing Russian intelligence with information on Russian opposition activists residing in Poland, as well as individuals and institutions providing assistance to them.