Royal Navy Reports 25 Percent Increase in Russian Naval Activity in UK and North Atlantic Waters in First Half of 2026

The Royal Navy reported that warships and helicopters spent 21 days in July monitoring Russian naval activity in UK waters and the North Atlantic, a 25 percent increase over July 2025, with overall monitoring activations up 25 percent across the first seven months of the year compared with 2025 123. HMS Somerset, HMS Tyne, HMS Mersey and HMS Severn, alongside Wildcat and Merlin helicopters, tracked Russian warships and submarines, and HMS Tyne closed to five nautical miles to observe Russian frigate RFN Neustrashimy conducting gunnery firings outside UK and French territorial waters on July 20 14. The Royal Navy attributed the rise to Russian frigates, including Neustrashimy, repeatedly escorting sanctioned shadow-fleet tankers through UK-monitored traffic lanes, following the UK's June interdiction of tanker MT Smyrtos and its sanctioning of more than 500 vessels since the start of the year 14. USNI News additionally reported that French naval forces separately shadowed Neustrashimy in the North Sea during the week of July 30 to August 6, and that Russian frigate RFN Admiral Grigorovich fired warning shots toward a UK civilian yacht on July 14, an incident Russia's Defence Ministry attributed to a dangerous approach by the yacht 4.