“The dragons are back”: British counterintelligence warned of growing threats from Russia and China

The head of Britain’s MI5 counterintelligence, Ken McCallum, said that in 2026 the UK faced a more complex security environment than after the September 11, 2001 attacks. In addition to the constant terrorist threat, the country is countering large-scale risks from Russia and China.

This is reported by The Independent .

According to the head of MI5, terrorist organizations continue to seek to carry out large-scale attacks, but now British counterintelligence is simultaneously countering strategic threats from states that have much greater resources.

“The dragons are back, but the snakes are not gone,” McCallum said. By “dragons,” he meant Russia and China, while terrorist and extremist groups remain a parallel threat.

McCallum previously reported that the number of people MI5 investigated for foreign activities had increased by 35% in the past year. Counter-intelligence also recorded attempts to spy on parliament, universities and critical infrastructure, as well as preparations for sabotage, arson, surveillance and physical violence.

McCallum noted that modern aggression by states can include sabotage through criminal intermediaries, covert interference in democratic processes, and cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.

The head of MI5 also called on the government, business, universities and society to work together to prepare for possible attacks. According to him, much of the UK’s critical systems and infrastructure is privately owned, so in the event of a large-scale crisis, it would not be only the state that would bear responsibility.

McCallum warned that British intelligence agencies should not simply prepare for a repeat of familiar scenarios. He believed that the next major threat could arise in an area where it is not currently expected.

As of September 11, the UK’s national terror threat level remains at SEVERE, the second of five levels, meaning a terrorist attack is considered highly likely.

It was previously reported that the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), together with the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), preventeda sabotage that, according to investigators, was being prepared by a 40-year-old Russian citizen living in Romania.

By the way, Germany plans to strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure from Russian hybrid threats , including sabotage and cyberattacks. The country’s Ministry of the Interior is preparing the deployment of new special forces and a national cyber defense system.

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