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1. How British firms unwittingly helped build Putin's submarine defences

INVESTIGATION
How British firms unwittingly helped build Putin’s submarine defences

A Times investigation reveals how a network with links to spies bought high-tech components made in the UK to strengthen Russian vessels in the Arctic Ocean


A submarine of Russia’s Northern Fleet on exercise. Parts bought from British companies were used in Russian early-warning systems in the Arctic Ocean
EPA/RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY

Ali Mitib
Thursday October 23 2025, 7.30am BST, The Times

A network linked to Russian spies enlisted British companies to unwittingly help build President Putin’s Arctic submarine defences for nearly a decade, a Times investigation has found.

The procurement network circumvented sanctions and export controls to purchase more than €50 million worth of sensitive underwater technology and research vessels from Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan between 2014 and 2024, according to leaked documents.

It purchased more than £1 million worth of high-tech British-made components such as sensors and remotely-operated vehicles that helped build the Russian early warning system that detects Nato submarines in the Arctic Ocean and protect Russia’s nuclear weapons. Among the British equipment sold was an unmanned vehicle used to survey and lay cables and a state-of-the-art sound sensor suitable for “hydrographic survey operations”. … There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the British companies.

The findings have emerged from Russian Secrets, an investigation by The Times, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and 11 other outlets. The revelations have prompted calls for the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) to ensure that the UK’s sanctions regime can counter attempts to circumvent it.

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