Britain ‘needs to become more resilient to Russian drone attacks’

Unmarked oil tankers slipping through European waters, unarmed drones buzzing over airports and military bases, and the Kremlin growing bolder with every next provocation of the West.

Together, they form this new pressure system weighting on Britain and its allies.

Rachel Ellehuus, director-general of the Royal United Services Institute, has warned that the UK is just waking up to these ‘state threats’.

At a RUSI event discussing UK foreign policy challenges, she said: ‘Russia’s shadow fleet will come, the disinformation will come, the drones will fly again, the irresponsible air incursions will happen.

‘People just have to become resilient to it. And that means both in terms of their attitude and in terms of having redundancy on our various systems, whether that is lines of communications or shipping lanes.

‘It is a change in mentality and mindset that we see further north – across Sweden and and Finland – as they are used to living under this persistent instability of the bilateral threshold challenges.’

Russia has long been accused of interfering in European affairs, even prior the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Until recently, the attacks felt less present – but still malicious – focusing on election meddling in countries like Georgia and Moldova, and propaganda.

In September, the issue was thrust back into focus when drones crossed over into Poland amid a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine.

Days later, fighter jets violated Estonia’s airspace during the Russia-Belarus military drills.

Since then, sporadic drone sightings have forced the closure of multiple civilian airports in Europe, sparking fears of war in some Nato countries.

Speculations have been mounting that this is Vladimir Putin’s test to the resilience of certain nations who have been helping Ukraine during the war.

Alongside the air incursions, Ellehuus pointed to Russia’s shadow fleet as another major challenge.

She said: ‘Certain nations are being quite bold in boarding these ships and challenging and asking questions even if they do not have the authorities to stop them or escort them back to shore.

‘The next step is to change the legislation and get somebody other than individual nations or groups of regional nations who do not have the might to enforce the rules in court to try to change the framework.’

Ellehuus’ warning comes as the Russian spy ship Yantar was detected on the edge of British waters this morning.

Defence secretary John Healey said Britain ‘is ready’ to respond and that ‘military options’ have been drawn up if the vessel heads south.

Every day hundreds of shadow fleet ships – unregulated unsafe tankers carrying oil from Russia to states including China and India – sail through European waters.

To avoid sanctions, the vessels intentionally disable their identification system, tamper with their location and falsify registry documentation.

This also increases the risk of collisions with other vessels, anchor drags, and environmental damage.

By early this year, analysts estimated that roughly one sixth of the world’s active tanker fleet belonged to Russian operators employing obscure flags and shell companies. The number of vessels exceeded 900.

European Union regulations are evolving to address Russia’s shadow fleet. By July, the EU had designated 444 shadow fleet vessels. 

Finland and Germany, for example, have implemented further checks, but apart from sanctions, countries’ ability to act on such threats is extremely limited.

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