Putin’s warship is 30 miles off the UK – and it’s shadowing key infrastructure

On or around May 4-5, 2026, the Russian Amur-class repair ship PM-82 was detected stationary roughly 30 miles off the Suffolk coast, near the Galloper offshore wind farm, a critical energy asset powering over 400,000 UK homes. The vessel supports Russia’s Baltic Fleet and is part of an ongoing escalation of maritime grey zone activities by Moscow against the UK and European allies. This activity follows increased sailing of Russia’s sanctioned shadow fleet through UK waters and documented interference with undersea cables in the Baltic and Atlantic seas. British defense and maritime authorities have increased patrols and surveillance amid concerns of shadowing and potential targeting of vulnerable infrastructure. The UK Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the deployment. Officials warn this behavior is part of a broader strategy of naval intimidation as part of Russia's grey war strategy in Europe and the UK’s maritime approaches. This follows prior suspicious activities near the Channel and suspected sabotage attacks on Nord Stream pipelines. The incident underscores heightened Russian naval presence and hybrid threat posture near vital Western infrastructure.