Russian spies entered UK on cargo ships to target military bases and sites

Two suspected Russian spies are believed to have secretly entered the UK on cargo ships before traveling to locations close to key military bases and critical government infrastructure, according to reports.

The i Paper claimed the two men arrived in the UK during the spring and summer of 2025, using ports at Torquay, Middlesbrough and Grangemouth, in the north-east.

A UK defense source also suggested the men were linked to President Vladimir Putin’s military and intelligence networks.

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The pair are alleged to have accessed the country covertly by exploiting commercial shipping routes rather than passing through heavily monitored border entry points.

The ships they used were reportedly neither Russian-flagged nor part of the sanctioned shadow fleet associated with the Kremlin, making them far less likely to attract scrutiny.

A senior NATO official responsible for protecting Europe’s maritime waters told the outlet that intelligence agencies had detected Russian operatives traveling on non-suspicious cargo vessels.

The official said those type of ships offer an ideal way of moving personnel discreetly.

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“It would be the most natural place to move people around in that world, and we think it’s going on,” the source said.

“They are not sailing on shadow fleet tankers, they are sailing on all [types of] ships,” the source claimed, adding that Russian agents had monitored and “tested European ports to find weaknesses.”

One of the suspected operatives is reported to have entered the UK through Torquay in the South West after traveling from Finland. 

The second, previously seen in Moscow at an intelligence-linked facility, was suspected of traveling from Kaliningrad and entering via Middlesbrough and Grangemouth.

After spending time around the storage facility at Grangemouth, the second operative also traveled to Falkirk, where they visited a retail park.

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Both British docks were recently proposed by the Ministry of Defense (MoD) as potential sites for future UK weapons factories. 

They are currently unused brownfield locations, increasing concerns over the security implications of the alleged visits.

Elisabeth Braw of the Intelligence Council and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council told the i Paper that it makes sense for Russian intelligence to exploit these weaknesses.

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“It doesn’t surprise me that Russia wants to bring certain people into the country even though they can reach people who are already there,” she said.

“They need their own operatives to conduct this sort of activity,” Braw added.