Russian spies infiltrate UK on cargo ships to scout military sites, find weaknesses

Two suspected Russian spies are maintained to have secretly entered the UK on cargo ships before traveling to locations close to key military bases and critical executive infrastructure according to reports The i Paper claimed the two men arrived in the UK during the spring and summer of 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 BRITAIN SAYS RUSSIAN SPY SHIP IS ON EDGE OF UK WATERS AS DEFENSE SECRETARY ISSUES WARNING TO PUTINThe pair are alleged to have accessed the country covertly by exploiting commercial shipping routes rather than passing through heavily monitored territory line 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 recounted the outlet that intelligence agencies had detected Russian operatives traveling on non-suspicious cargo vessels The official stated those type of ships offer an ideal way of moving personnel discreetly US TURNS TO FINLAND TO CLOSE ARCTIC ICEBREAKER GAP AS RUSSIA CHINA EXPAND POLAR PRESENCE It would be the the bulk natural place to move people around in that world and we think it s going on the source reported 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 shared 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 NATO CONSIDERS MORE AGGRESSIVE RESPONSE TO RUSSIA S HYBRID THREATSBoth British docks were in the last few days proposed by the Ministry of Defense MoD as promising sites for future UK weapons factories They are now unused brownfield locations increasing concerns over the protection implications of the alleged visits Elisabeth Braw of the Intelligence Council and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council described 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 revealed They need their own operatives to conduct this sort of activity Braw added