Now Putin sends SPY SHIPS to Britain to eavesdrop on military
RUSSIA has sent a fleet of spy ships to Britain to listen in on secret military communications, a senior army commander has revealed.
Lord West of Spithead, a former First Sea Lord, warned espionage by the country had escalated to a "worrying" level amid more acts of "provocation" by president Vladimir Putin.
Hi-tech converted fishing boats that can intercept voice communications up to 200 miles away have been spotted in the North Sea by Nato aircraft.
It is thought that the vessels are targeting RAF bases in Lossiemouth and Coningsby.
The ships alert Russian aircrews when Typhoons from Britain's Air Reaction Alert force are taking off.
A senior military source told the Daily Mail: "It would appear from our intelligence that they are working in support of Soviet bombers which have been seen off the east coast and as far south as Cornwall and simply record our reaction to these events.
Six of the spook ships have been seen in the past three weeks raising fears that the activity could be part of a planned operation against Britain.
But there is very little that the UK can do to stop the Soviet spying.
The source added: "The problem is that while we managed to deal with them in the 1980s by jamming their electronic ‘listening’ field, they had updated their systems with much greater capability and as long as they sit in international waters we can do nothing."
The chilling development comes after heightened aggression towards Britain from Moscow.
The RAF was forced to scramble fighter jets in February to warn off two Russian bombers flying dangerously close to British airspace.
That incident came just days after the Royal Navy tracked a warship from the country through the Channel.
The HMS Argyll navy ship deployed a Lynx helicopter and used sensors to locate and monitor the Yaroslav Mudryy, which was on its way to the North Sea from the Mediterranean.
French forces had been tracking the Russian warship but when it veered close to British borders the navy was dispatched.
The ship was tracked through the English Channel and continued its journey to Baltiysk, Russia.
Lord West said: "It was quite a tense business during the Cold War and now it is winding up again and it is very worrying.
"They seem to have increased espionage, which raises tension.’
Lord West added: ‘They are very capable trawlers. There are lots of things the Russians want to know and they do go to try and find it out."
