Two suspected Russian spies secretly entered Britain on cargo ships before traveling to locations near key military bases and critical government infrastructure, according to reports.
The i-paper claimed the two men arrived in Britain in the spring and summer of 2025, via ports in Torquay, Middlesbrough and Grangemouth, in the north-east.
A British defense source also suggested the men had links to President Vladimir Putin’s military and intelligence networks.
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Two suspected Russian spies entered the UK on cargo ships via the ports of Torquay, Middlesbrough and Grangemouth before visiting areas near military bases. (PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images))
The pair are said to have entered the country stealthily by exploiting commercial shipping routes rather than passing through heavily policed border posts.
The ships they used reportedly did not fly a Russian flag nor were they part of the sanctioned shadow fleet linked to the Kremlin, making them far less likely to come under scrutiny.
A senior NATO official responsible for protecting European maritime waters told the press that intelligence services had discovered Russian agents traveling on unsuspected cargo ships.
The official said these types of ships are an ideal way to move personnel discreetly.
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“It would be the most natural place to move people into that world, and we think it is happening,” the source said.
‘They don’t sail on shadow fleet tankers, they sail on all of them [types of] ships,” the source claimed, adding that Russian agents had checked and “tested European ports to find weaknesses.”
One of the suspected officers is believed to have entered the UK via Torquay in the south west after traveling from Finland.
The second, previously seen in Moscow at an intelligence centre, was suspected of traveling from Kaliningrad and entering via Middlesbrough and Grangemouth.
After spending time at the Grangemouth storage facility, the second employee also traveled to Falkirk where he visited a retail park.
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Suspected Russian agents entered the UK through ports near weapons facilities to test security weaknesses. (John Keeble/Getty Images)
Both British docks have recently been proposed by the Ministry of Defense (MoD) as potential sites for future British weapons factories.
They are currently unused brownfield sites, raising concerns about the safety 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 to the country, even if they can reach people who are already there,” she said.
“They need their own officers to carry out this type of activity,” Braw added.
