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NATO Highlights Decline of Russian Navy After Sub Surfaces Off France

Russian sub French frigate
French frigate monitoring the Russian submarine after it surface off the coast of Brittany (NATO Maritime Command)

Published Oct 13, 2025 4:34 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

Speculation continues days after a Russian submarine surfaced off France during its trip home. Today, October 13, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte took the opportunity to highlight the decline of the Russian navy, saying the vessel was “limping” and jokingly said it could be a “hunt for the nearest mechanic.”

Russian media have been quick to deny the Western media coverage and widespread rumors of a malfunction on the diesel-electric submarine Novorossiysk. TASS said today it is a routine journey home at the end of the patrol, and that the ballistic-missile submarine had simply surfaced due to international rules for the transit of the English Channel.

Rutte, however, openly talked of the decline of the Russian navy. He noted the lack of a Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean.

 

 

Rumors began to circulate on well-informed social media channels that the Novorossiysk had suffered a fuel leak. They suggested the vessel lacked onboard capabilities and was forced to surface to empty flooded compartments. Some reports said it was a dangerous fuel leak aboard the vessel, which was commissioned in 2012.

NATO Maritime Command was the first to highlight that the submarine had surfaced with a posting on social media entitled “We are watching.” In the October 9 report, they said a French frigate was conducting surveillance off the coast of Brittany, marking the presence of a Russian submarine operating on the surface. 

 

 

Monitoring was later handed off to British and then Belgian vessels. The Dutch Navy on Saturday highlighted that its hydrographic survey vessel HNLMS Luymes had been tracking the Novorossiysk, which was traveling with the tugboat Yakov Grebelskiy. An NH90 helicopter was also used in the surveillance operation.

The UK’s Royal Navy and NATO forces have repeatedly highlighted their efforts at tracking Russian vessels during their transits through these waters. The Dutch highlighted that it was the second time this year that Novorossiysk has been tracked off the coast, although the mention this time of a “supporting tug” added to the speculation of problems aboard the submarine.