Royal Navy says there’s been massive surge in number of Russian warships in UK waters

There has been a surge in the number of Russian ships in UK waters in the past year, the Royal Navy has warned.

Naval operations tracking the vessels increased by 25% in July compared to last year.

Offshore patrol vessels HMS Tyne, HMS Mersey and HMS Severn were deployed to monitor Neustrashimy and Admiral Grigorovich, which themselves were escorting ‘shadow fleet’ tankers in the Dover Strait and North Sea over the course of the month.

Russia uses its shadow fleet, a network of 700 ageing tankers, to dodge sanctions imposed by other countries on its oil exports and to help fund the war in Ukraine.

HMS Tyne also monitored the Neustrashimy as it conducted a live firing exercise on July 20 near British and French waters.

Meanwhile, the frigate HMS Somerset and helicopters from the Navy’s Fleet Air Arm have been monitoring Russian activity in the North Atlantic.

This is part of a four-month Nato operation to find submarines in the area.

Somerset’s commanding officer, Commander Matt Millyard, said: ‘This deployment demonstrates exactly what the Royal Navy exists to do – protect the UK and our allies from wherever our interests are threatened.

‘I am immensely proud of every single member of the ship’s company for what we have achieved over the past four months.

‘It is fantastic to bring the ship home after a highly successful deployment and reunite with our families.’

Earlier this year, the Smyrtos tanker was seized by Royal Marines in June and boarded by British forces.

The captain of the ship, Ajay Pant, was charged for allegedly breaching international sanctions on Russian oil transport.

The MoD said in its annual report last month that Royal Navy vessels had been ‘activated’ some 116 times in the year to March 2026 to shadow 61 Russian warships and 28 merchant vessels, a 30% increase in Russian naval activity over the previous two years.

This also included operations to deter the spy ship Yantar that was spotted near undersea cables off Scotland in November 2025.