Breaking News
Increased Presence of Russian Spy Ships Around Europe: Viktor Leonov Vessel enters the Mediterranean.
On April 14, 2025, the Russian signals intelligence vessel Viktor Leonov (SSV-175), part of the Vishnya class, was detected transiting eastbound through the Strait of Gibraltar, entering the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean, as reported by @PeterFerrary on X. This movement marks a further step in the reinforcement of Russia’s naval presence in European waters, particularly near NATO member coastlines. The passage was confirmed by several maritime tracking sources, including Itamilradar, which issued an alert on April 15, 2025.
The Viktor Leonov is designed for electronic and signals intelligence missions (Picture source: X Channel Peter Ferrary)
The Viktor Leonov is designed for electronic and signals intelligence missions (SIGINT/ELINT). As a Project 864 vessel, it is intended for the collection of electronic signals, interception of communications, and monitoring of the electromagnetic spectrum in strategic areas. Equipped with a complex suite of antennas and sensors, it is capable of observing military and naval activities over wide maritime zones such as the Mediterranean or the North Sea. It replaces the Kildin, another Russian intelligence ship that recently left the Mediterranean, thus ensuring continued Russian surveillance operations in the region.
The deployment of the Viktor Leonov to the Mediterranean occurs amid a broader intensification of Russian maritime intelligence activities around Europe. Since the beginning of 2025, several Russian Navy vessels have been observed near the United Kingdom and Nordic countries, especially in the North Sea and the English Channel. On March 5, 2025, the British Royal Navy released images of HMS Somerset shadowing the Russian corvette Boikiy, which was escorting a military cargo vessel from the Russian naval base in Tartus, Syria. This surveillance operation lasted three days and also involved NATO patrol aircraft. The operation aimed to monitor the merchant ship Baltic Leader, suspected of transporting Russian military equipment to ports in the Baltic region.
The Baltic Leader, owned by Russian shipping company MG-Flot LLC, has been under UK and US sanctions since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The vessel is also linked to Promsvyazbank, a Russian financial institution sanctioned for supporting the country’s military activities. During the tracking operation, British naval personnel reportedly observed suspicious behavior aboard the Boikiy, including crew members burning documents and manning combat stations. HMS Somerset, a Type 23 frigate, used its radar to track the convoy’s movements while a Merlin helicopter was deployed for aerial surveillance.
On March 19, 2025, the Royal Navy once again monitored a Russian naval group transiting through UK waters. HMS Somerset, the minehunter HMS Cattistock, the tanker RFA Tidesurge, and Royal Navy helicopters escorted a group consisting of the destroyer RFN Severomorsk, the landing ship Alexander Shabalin, and two transport vessels, MV Sparta IV and MV Siyanie Severa. The operation began when the group entered the North Sea and also involved a P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft deployed by the Royal Air Force from RAF Lossiemouth. This was the third such operation in six weeks, with Russian vessels returning from Syria. The Udaloy-class Severomorsk met with the logistical ships off the coast of Cornwall, where HMS Cattistock was already on patrol. High-performance sensors, along with Merlin and Wildcat helicopters, were used to track the Russian task group as it moved toward the Baltic Sea.
HMS Somerset’s commanding officer, Joel Roberts, praised the coordination of NATO forces and the professionalism of his crew. UK Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard also emphasized that the United Kingdom remains fully committed to protecting its territorial waters.
On March 19, 2025, the Royal Navy once again monitored a Russian naval group transiting through UK waters (Picture source: Royal Navy)
This was not the first such incident this year. In January 2025, UK Defence Secretary John Healey addressed the presence of the Russian spy ship Yantar near British shores. This vessel has been suspected for several years of mapping Western undersea infrastructure, including telecommunications cables, raising concerns about the security of critical data networks. Although Russia denies any hostile activity, Western intelligence services view these operations as part of a broader strategy aimed at intimidation and strategic data collection.
Viktor Leonov’s transit through the Strait of Gibraltar—an essential maritime chokepoint linking the Atlantic and the Mediterranean—exemplifies this trend. The continued recurrence of Russian maritime surveillance missions in the North Sea, the Channel, and now the Mediterranean indicates Moscow’s intent to sustain advanced monitoring capabilities throughout the Euro-Atlantic maritime space. British and NATO naval forces remain actively engaged in tracking such deployments in the context of ongoing tensions stemming from the war in Ukraine and the increased militarization of critical maritime zones.
Regular incursions by Russian intelligence ships into European waters reflect a deliberate strategy to exert pressure and maintain a constant presence, testing NATO's readiness while collecting sensitive intelligence. From a geopolitical standpoint, these missions represent a form of unconventional power projection, underlining Russia’s capacity to operate near critical Western military and civilian infrastructure, including naval bases, subsea cables, and strategic transit corridors like the Strait of Gibraltar. These activities generate a persistent atmosphere of managed tension, blurring the line between lawful presence in international waters and deliberate provocation.
For European nations and NATO, the implications are significant. Maintaining the integrity of maritime surveillance and defense systems against increasingly sophisticated hybrid threats is essential. Moreover, these incursions highlight the need for strong allied coordination in intelligence sharing and operational response. They also underscore the vulnerability of maritime critical infrastructure, especially data-carrying undersea cables, which have become potential targets in an undeclared conflict environment. In this context, deterrence relies heavily on the visible deployment of countermeasures, such as systematic escort and monitoring, to ensure that European maritime space remains under close and constant watch.