British police have arrested three people suspected of being Russian spies during Donald Trump’s state visit to the United Kingdom.
NATO member states have reported a rise in sabotage attempts by Russian spies on their territories, as Russia steps up its hybrid war against the West following the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On Wednesday, the local police detained two men and a woman on suspicion of breaching national security laws by assisting Russian intelligence services.
The two men, aged 41 and 46, and the woman, aged 35, have been released on conditional bail.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, said in a statement: “Indeed, two young British men are awaiting sentencing after they were recruited by the Wagner Group, effectively the Russian state, to carry out an arson attack on a Ukrainian-linked warehouse. They are facing potentially lengthy prison sentences. However, to be clear, today’s arrests are in no way connected to that investigation.“
