The British military has discovered Russian spy sensors in the seas around the United Kingdom. Officials believe the devices were planted to track the movements of the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarines, according to a report by The Sunday Times.
The report reveals that some of the sensors were discovered by the Royal Navy on the seabed, while others were found washed up along the shore.
“There should be no doubt, there is a war raging in the Atlantic,” a senior British military official was quoted as saying. “This is a game of cat and mouse that has continued since the ending of the Cold War, and is now heating up again.”
Former U.K. minister Tobias Ellwood said the report confirmed that the U.K. is “now in a greyzone war with Russia.”
He said the sensors are only part of the problem as Russia has also set up “remote seabed platforms” off the U.K. coast that serve as recharging stations for mini-submarines. These subs, he said, are being used to map undersea cables for possible sabotage.
Ellwood told The Guardian that the government officials were aware of the Russian deep-sea bases.
While Ellwood welcomed the commissioning of the RFA Proteus—the U.K.’s flagship deep-sea surveillance vessel acquired by the Royal Navy in 2023—he warned that the country remains “behind the curve in our deterrence and our ability to respond.”
“The Proteus is just one ship, and given the threat from this greyzone capability, we are going to need half a dozen of these vessels if not more,” he said.
The report follows recent incidents in the Baltic Sea. Last December, the Estlink 2 cable between Finland and Estonia was cut. Investigators believe a Russian oil tanker dragged its anchor over the cable, possibly on purpose. Similar cases involved communication cables in Swedish waters.
The U.K. government has not confirmed the discovery of the devices. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson called the report “speculation” but said protecting national infrastructure is a priority. “Our continuous-at-sea nuclear deterrent continues to patrol the world’s oceans undetected as it has done for 56 years,” the spokesperson said.
Armed forces minister Luke Pollard told Parliament that the U.K. is taking more proactive steps in response to Russian actions. “It’s not always an eye for an eye,” he said. “In the event of any actions being taken against U.K. infrastructure, we would look at all the options available to us.”
