Russian-linked property acquisitions close to British military bases have come under scrutiny, after European intelligence officials warned that Moscow has been buying strategically located real estate across the continent as part of a potential sabotage and surveillance network.
According to a report in the UK’s Daily Telegraph, Western security agencies fear that Russians may have purchased homes around RAF Akrotiri, the Royal Air Force base within the UK’s Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus, amid a broader pattern of acquisitions near sensitive military and infrastructure sites in at least a dozen European countries.
The concerns come amid heightened sensitivity within the UK’s Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) on the island. On January 15, 2026, British Bases police said Vladislav Baumgertner, a Russian national and potash tycoon, was found dead in Avdimou within SBA territory. Authorities have not publicly linked the death to any security concerns, and no connection to the property allegations has been reported.
Intelligence officials cited by the Telegraph said clandestine Russian units have allegedly exploited legal loopholes to acquire strategically located properties in at least a dozen European countries. These include summer houses, holiday cabins, warehouses, city flats, abandoned schools and even entire islands.
Serving and former officers from three European intelligence agencies told the Telegraph they suspect clandestine Russian units of exploiting legal loopholes to acquire summer houses, holiday cabins, warehouses, abandoned schools, city flats and even entire islands. The properties are allegedly intended to serve as launchpads for surveillance, sabotage operations and covert attacks in the event of a geopolitical crisis.
Akrotiri plays a central role in British and allied military operations in the Middle East and hosts advanced aircraft and surveillance capabilities. Security analysts told the Telegraph that ownership of nearby private property could offer vantage points for monitoring military movements or staging disruptive activities.
The warnings form part of wider Western assessments that Russia is escalating so-called “hybrid warfare” tactics, operating below the threshold of open conflict. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, intelligence agencies have linked Moscow to a rise in sabotage incidents across Europe, including arson attacks in London and Warsaw, parcel bomb plots, assassination attempts and attempts to derail trains.
Some officials believe such incidents may represent preliminary tests. Rather than mounting a conventional military assault on a NATO member state, Russia could seek to carry out deniable attacks on transport, energy and communications infrastructure, complicating any collective response under NATO’s Article 5 mutual defence clause.
“A sabotage campaign is less likely to produce consensus around Article 5 than a conventional Russian military operation,” one intelligence officer told the Telegraph, citing the difficulty of attributing covert acts with certainty.
Britain’s foreign intelligence chief, Blaise Metreweli, has warned that the country is operating “in a space between peace and war”, saying Russia is testing Western states in the “grey zone” with tactics just below the threshold of armed conflict.
Across Europe, intelligence services have identified similar patterns. Finland is widely viewed by security officials as an early example. In 2018, authorities raided properties owned by a Russian-controlled company, Airiston Helmi, which had quietly acquired 17 strategically located sites, including the island of Sakkiluoto near key maritime routes and telecommunications infrastructure. Investigators found multiple piers, a helipad, security cameras and advanced communications equipment. The owner was later convicted of fraud, while Moscow dismissed suspicions of espionage.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, officials say Russia has largely shifted towards acquiring smaller, less conspicuous properties at scale. Similar concerns have been raised in Norway, Sweden and the Baltic states, where Russian-linked entities and individuals have purchased cabins or buildings close to military bases, ports and radar installations.
In southern Europe, agencies have flagged acquisitions near naval bases and strategic waterways in Sicily, Crete and mainland Greece. Switzerland has also emerged as a focus, with reported Russian purchases near sensitive research facilities and communications infrastructure.
Efforts to introduce an EU-wide ban on property sales to Russian nationals collapsed last year amid resistance from some member states concerned about economic repercussions.
Finland and several Baltic states have since tightened restrictions on property purchases by Russian and Belarusian nationals. Security analysts warn, however, that a patchwork of national laws leaves gaps that hostile actors could exploit.
Read more: