Royal Navy increases surveillance operations by 25% in UK waters amid greater Russian activity

The Royal Navy increased operations to monitor Russian naval activity by 25% during the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, and around 30% over the past two years. This has come amid heightened Russian naval activity in UK waters and the North Atlantic, specifically the monitoring of Russian warships and vessels associated with Moscow's “shadow fleet”, which Russia uses to circumvent international sanctions and sustain oil revenues.

Recent examples include UK naval forces intercepting the sanctioned tanker Smyrtos in the English Channel in June. HMS Severn was also activated twice in July to monitor Russian warships, while Royal Navy vessels and aircrafts have tracked Russian frigates Neustrashimy and Admiral Grigorovich, including when the Neustrashimy carried out gunnery firings near UK and French territorial waters.

The growing presence of Russian maritime activity is placing growing demands on the UK's naval surveillance and response capabilities, with the MoD stating that responding to regular Russian activity is “using up valuable operational capacity”. The need to distribute finite naval resources across geographically dispersed incidents could create additional security vulnerabilities, particularly in the event of simultaneous or coordinated Russian activity that would stretch the UK’s ability to maintain effective surveillance and response coverage.