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.
“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.
Russian spies infiltrate UK on cargo ships to scout military sites, find weaknesses 2025 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2025-12-05 01:54:21 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
