Meanwhile, in Russia -- or in this case, Denmark....

 The Russian Oscar-II class nuclear guided-missile submarine Orel had an unknown problem with its propulsion system on July 30 while transiting Danish waters in the Baltic Sea near Denmark’s second-largest city Aarhus, prompting the Russian Navy to prepare to tow the submarine before it eventually resumed operation. The details of the incident aren’t exactly clear, but Russian submarines have had some issues in recent years. 

The Barents Observer reports that Orel was sailing alongside the Udaloy class anti-submarine missile destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov from St. Petersberg to the Kola Peninsula when the issue occurred. The crew of the Orel could reportedly be seen on the forward deck wearing life preservers while the Russian Northern Fleet’s tug Altai approached with ropes. 

Once whatever issue with the submarine’s propulsion had been fixed enough to keep moving, the Russian vessels then sailed north into Skagerak, the waters between Denmark and Norway.

Norway’s Joint Headquarters said that the submarine resumed its transit first on the surface, but is now once again submerged.

Well, couldn't have been too serious, right?