UK Warns of Russian Sabotage Threat to Companies Supplying Weapons to Ukraine

The heads of British defense companies supplying weapons and drones to Ukraine have been warned of an increased risk of Russian espionage.

The Daily Mail reported this.

British government officials issued the warning during a closed-door meeting with defense industry executives held in early summer.

Senior British government officials and executives from companies supplying weapons to Ukraine attended the meeting.
According to the media, the specific list of participants was not disclosed. At the same time, drone and long-range weapons manufacturers were identified as companies that could attract particular attention from Russian intelligence services.

One of them is British-Ukrainian company Ukrspecsystems, which manufactures drones for Ukraine. Its facility is located near the U.S. Air Force’s Mildenhall Air Base in Suffolk.

Another potential target is Callen-Lenz, a BAE Systems subsidiary that supplies unmanned systems to Ukraine. According to the media, Ukraine has used its products in strikes against oil industry facilities deep inside Russia.

MBDA, the manufacturer of Storm Shadow cruise missiles used by Ukraine to strike Russian military targets, may also attract the attention of Russian intelligence services.

The British government is increasing its focus on defense industry security amid a series of incidents across Europe. Western law enforcement agencies previously mentioned that Russian intelligence services may have planned assassination attempts against the heads of German defense companies.

Former British Defense Secretary John Healey next to a Storm Shadow missile at an MBDA UK plant. Photo credits: UK Ministry of Defence

Russia is increasingly using so-called “gray-zone” tools against the UK, including espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks, information operations, and proxy activity.

According to British intelligence, the threat from Russian intelligence services has increased significantly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In 2024, the number of MI5 investigations related to state threats increased by 48%.

The GRU plays a particularly important role in these operations. British authorities have officially linked Units 29155, 26165, and 74455 to Russia’s military intelligence service, saying they are involved in sabotage, cyberoperations, and information attacks.

As of July 2026, London had imposed sanctions on three GRU units and dozens of Russian intelligence officers.

Russia also uses criminal financial networks to support its operations. Under Operation DESTABILISE, the UK’s National Crime Agency recorded 129 arrests and seized more than £25 million in cash and cryptocurrency in the UK.

Investigators identified links between Russian-speaking money-laundering networks and people connected to Russian intelligence services.

Protecting critical infrastructure remains a separate challenge for the UK. RUSI said that in 2025, the number of suspected Russian hybrid incidents in Europe had already exceeded the total recorded for all of 2024.

According to Dragonfly, about 90% of these incidents occurred after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, while their number increased about sixfold in 2024 compared with 2023.

Militarnyi previously reported that in May 2026, a UK court found two men guilty of spying for China, marking the first such convictions in the country’s history.