The British government issued a warning to Moscow on Wednesday, putting the Kremlin on notice over a Russian naval vessel allegedly having entered British territorial waters and aiming lasers at UK pilots.

Defense Secretary John Healey accused the Yantar, a special purpose intelligence collection ship, of its second intrusion into UK waters this year, following a similar incident last January. "At the moment, the Yantar is positioned just off U.K. waters north of Scotland, after moving through the wider surrounding area over recent weeks," Healey told a press briefing held at at Downing Street.

The UK military scrambled aerial assets in response, including Royal Air Force jets as well as a naval frigate, in order to "track and monitor the vessel," during which time "the Yantar directed lasers at our pilots."

He condemned the use of the lasers against UK aircraft as "extremely dangerous" and then said he was addressing a warning Russian President Vladimir Putin directly: "We see what you're doing. We are fully aware. And if the Yantar continues south this week, we are prepared," he said.

Further according to the BBC:

Healey said the laser incident took place whilst the Yantar was being followed by a Royal Navy frigate and RAF Poseidon P-8 planes deployed to "track the vessel's every move". It is understood the episode occurred within the last two weeks.

Speaking at a news conference in Downing Street, the defense secretary added he had changed the Royal Navy's rules of engagement so that it could follow the Yantar more closely "when it is in our wider waters".

Western allies believe Russian naval 'research vessels' like the Yantar are assisting with Moscow-backed 'sabotage campaigns' in northern European waters. For example the last couple years have seen allegations of Russian vessels cutting telecoms cables under the North Sea and elsewhere.

Healey's warning of being 'prepared' to act could be the closest London has recently come to threatening direct military action against a Russian naval asset. 

Such action could start with an attempt to intercept or chase the vessel away from British waters, or even fire warning shots or more if things should escalate.

A response to the accusations was issued by the Russian Embassy in London. It said Russia isn't interested in sabotaging anything in regional waters. "London, with its Russophobic path and increasing militaristic hysteria leads to further degradation European security, providing the premise for new dangerous situations," it said.

"We call on the British side to hold off taking any destructive steps which might aggravate the crisis situation on the European continent," the embassy added. Russian officials and institutions have been under intense scrutiny in the UK ever since the Ukraine war began, and relations are steadily worsening.