NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday, October 13, mocked Russia over a “broken” stealth submarine that he said was “limping” home due to technical problems after surfacing) in NATO waters off the coast of France in recent days.
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet denied that its submarine, Novorossiysk, had experienced any issues and said it was forced to surface in the English Channel to comply with maritime regulations, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
However, the Dutch defense ministry said the Novorossiysk was being towed by a tugboat while the Dutch navy escorted the submarine through the North Sea.
Speaking at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Ljubljana, Rutte said NATO members “should not underestimate the threat from Russia, but we should not overestimate Russia’s capabilities either.”
“Despite their posturing, they’ve failed to meet their ambitions, and at an incredible cost, more than one million Russians killed or seriously injured,” he said.
“Its Mediterranean task force was once a mix of surface ships, submarines and support vessels. Now, in effect, there is hardly any Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean left.
“There is a lone and broken Russian submarine limping home from patrol. What a change from the 1984 Tom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October. Today, it seems more like the hunt for the nearest mechanic,” Rutte said.
Despite its depleted military, Russia “remains deeply dangerous” and “continues to carry out cyber and espionage operations against our countries,” he added. In response, NATO was “stepping up” its spending and investments in defense and security. Credit: NATO via Storyful