Crypto News: Putin’s submarine menace

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Even as all eyes are on the war in the Gulf, in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic another threat to global security is building.

It’s here that NATO and Russia are facing off in an echo of Cold War-era anti-submarine warfare, only with new and increasingly sophisticated technology.

Russia’s ground and air forces are well known since their 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine. Less attention is paid to Moscow’s maritime power.

Yet Vladimir Putin has put significant resources into reconstituting the Russian navy after its post-Soviet demise, with a raft of new vessels including modern nuclear submarines entering service in the past decade, and more to come.

That’s a contrast with the US, which still enjoys a slight numerical advantage over its old adversary but is struggling to build submarines due to severe labor shortages.

As military officials told us, these new Russian boats are good, heavily armed and hard to track. And they’re prompting a robust response from frontline NATO states, primarily Norway, the UK and — for now, at least — the US, despite President Donald Trump’s open disdain for the military alliance.

A rare glimpse of the cat-and-mouse playing out came earlier this month, when the UK announced it had disrupted a covert Russian operation targeting subsea infrastructure in and around British waters. It began when a Russian attack submarine was picked up as it entered international waters in the High North.

The Northern Fleet, based near Murmansk in the Arctic, is the mainstay of Russia’s nuclear deterrent and the apex of the navy.

Whether transiting south from the Kola Peninsula and into the North Atlantic or lurking under the polar ice cap, these submarines are the most muscular expression of Putin’s seapower.

As the UK and Norway can attest, it’s a threat that’s becoming more potent by the year. — Alan Crawford

Putin attends a flag-raising ceremony in Severodvinsk in this photo supplied by Russian state media on July 24, 2025. Photographer: Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images — Putin attends a flag-raising ceremony in Severodvinsk, Russia, in July 2025.

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Live Q&A: Whether it’s tech giants doing battle with politicians over regulation or startups abandoning the continent for the US, Europe’s relationship with the industry remains as bumpy as it’s ever been. Bloomberg journalists answer your questions in a live conversation today at 2 p.m. CET. Listen here.

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Chart of the Day

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Coming soon: Get the AI Today newsletter — chronicling the disruptions and threats of AI on businesses, workers, governments and economies with analysis from Bloomberg’s global newsroom.

And Finally

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