Could a Submarine Sever Global Internet Communications? One Was Just Caught While Surfaced Near Undersea Cable Hub

In September, the French frigate Normandie, in coordination with naval forces of NATO allies such as Spain and the United Kingdom, escorted a Russian submarine and its accompanying tugboat through the Bay of Biscay.
The question, of course, is: What was the Russian submarine doing there in the first place?
We can only speculate, but there are some pretty solid grounds for speculation.
We know, for example, that Russian submarines have been training to severe underwater cables since at least 1970