News · 9 August 2026

Royal Navy spent 25% more time in July monitoring Russian vessels

The Royal Navy spent 21 days in July monitoring Russian ships, an increase of 25% compared with last year. Russian naval activity has risen 30% over two years, including spy ships near undersea cables. The Ministry of Defence says Russia is using valuable operational capacity guarding its “shadow fleet” tankers.

By BriefTea Editorial · 9 August 2026 at 6:41

Reported by The Guardian · How we write briefs

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What are international waters? What is a 'shadow fleet'? Who pays for naval operations? Why monitor other navies?

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