Russian spies could be flying drones over UK military bases to gain information about Britain’s secret training programme for Ukrainian soldiers, it has been revealed.
Russian intelligence has shown ‘significant’ interest in Operation Interflex, the British-led multinational plan to train and support Ukraine‘s armed forces, according to a guide handed out to British soldiers.
The Field Army Threat Handbook, published late last year, warns that Russian intelligence services ‘routinely employ’ reconnaissance capabilities to ‘collect on UK land activities, including the training of armed forces of Ukraine personnel’.
The handbook claims this involves the use of ‘remotely piloted aircraft systems, mobile and foot surveillance, virtual and physical approaches to training providers and interest from investigative journalists’.
‘This government takes the security of our military establishments very seriously,’ a Ministry of Defence spokesperson told The Times.
‘There are a range of robust measures to protect our people and sites.’
Ukrainian soldiers train in Imber, Wiltshire with British soldiers as part of Operation Interflex
British troops (left), lead a patrol of Ukrainian soldiers during an exercise on Salisbury Plain
A Russian Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV at a military expo in August 2022
The Ministry of Defence has been working with Ukraine’s military to train recruits in urban warfare, as part of its Operation Interflex, since July 2022.
By June of last year, the Army reported it was on track to train 37,000 recruits, with the war effort desperately calling for battle-ready soldiers to replenish frontlines.
Interflex, the successor to Operational Orbital – similar in function – is billed as a five-week course designed to turn ordinary Ukrainian citizens into highly skilled warriors.
But with the Kremlin warning Ukraine’s Western allies not to interfere, and threatening Britain over its materiel support, British soldiers have been told to be aware of potential Russian snooping.
The handbook given to soldiers warns agents have already approached trainers to gain information on the programme, The Times reports.
It also warns of ‘vulnerable locations’ including training areas and key logistical sites.
In May, then-Home Secretary James Cleverly revealed plans to ‘target and dismantle Russian intelligence gathering operations’ in what was seen as one of the most significant steps of its kind since the end of the Cold War.
Cleverly unmasked the Russian defence attaché, Colonel Maxim Elovik, as a top spy and said he would be immediately expelled from the UK.
He also announced that a series of diplomatic premises suspected of being spy bases would lose their special legal status.
Russia responded by expelling the British defence attaché in a tit-for-tat response.
Putin has been increasingly belligerent over the West’s support for Ukraine in recent months, going so far as to declare that the Kremlin may review its doctrine for the use of nuclear weapons in the face of perceived Western aggression in recent weeks.
Speaking at the conclusion of a pair of state visits to North Korea and Vietnam, the Russian President accused Kyiv’s Western partners of raising tensions even further by greenlighting the use of NATO weapons against targets on Russian soil.
He also accused Western countries of ‘lowering the threshold’ for the use of nuclear devices against Russia – a charge for which he provided no evidence.
These alleged developments led the 71-year-old autocrat to conclude Moscow must now consider updating its nuclear doctrine in preparation for atomic warfare, announcing that defeat in Ukraine would mean ‘the end of Russia’s statehood’.
‘It means the end of the 1,000-year history of the Russian state. I think this is clear to everyone… Isn’t it better to go all the way, until the end?’ he asked rhetorically.
Ukrainian soldiers train during a visit by Swedish Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, to a military training camp in East Anglia in the UK as part of Operation Interflex, November 2023
Ukrainian soldiers take part in an exercise run by Britain’s armed forces in February
Last week, Russia carried out the third stage of nuclear tests, with troops photographed practicing installing dummy warheads onto launchers.
The Russian Defence Ministry said the drills would prepare the army and air force for the combat use of non-strategic nuclear weapons.
Moscow has claimed Putin ordered the drills tactical nuclear drills to ‘cool the hot heads in Western capitals’.
It followed French President Emmanuel Macron hinting at sending European troops to fight in Ukraine earlier this year.
Former British Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron also said Kyiv had the right to use weapons provided by London to strike targets inside Russia.
Both statements infuriated warmonger Putin who is struggling to make significant progress in his invasion of Ukraine.
