AN image showing a Russian submarine alongside a photo of President Vladimir Putin has circulated online with a claim that it was recently spotted near London, United Kingdom.
An X user, @rkmtimes, posted the image on June 8, 2025. It read:
“BREAKING : First time Russian NUCLEAR submarine spotted near London, UK.”
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The post has attracted over 450,000 views with more than 2,000 reposts, and 14,000 likes as of June 11, 2025.
CLAIM
Photo shows a recent sighting of a Russian nuclear submarine near London, UK.
THE FINDINGS
Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.
A Google reverse image search by our fact-checker traced the submarine photo to media reports published four years ago as can be seen here and here. The image depicts the Russian nuclear-powered submarine, Kazan, which was spotted off the coast of Scotland, not London in June, 2024.
According to The Sun UK, the vessel was tracked by the RAF Poseidon P-8 surveillance aircraft near the Faslane Naval Base, which hosts the UK’s nuclear submarine fleet. It was confirmed that the submarine did not enter British territorial waters, the BBC also reported.
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Following the sighting, then-UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, reportedly held a closed-door meeting with the Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps, over the potential security threat, according to the BBC. NATO leaders also expressed concern that the vessel may have been mapping vulnerabilities along NATO coastlines.
Subsequent reports by the Daily Express indicated that the submarine later travelled to Havana, Cuba, for a five-day visit — a move perceived as a geopolitical message.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the image shows a recent sighting of a Russian nuclear submarine near London is MISLEADING. The image has been online since 2020, while it was sighted near Scotland in June 2024.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
