The officials, who asked to remain anonymous, said Russian submarines had been detected "in the past few months" sailing westwards out of the port of Murmansk and in international waters between Iceland and Britain.
The officials said the submarines, part of the former Soviet Union's Northern Fleet, did not appear to pose any direct threat and appeared to be carrying out military exercises.
They said that no NATO members had been advised in advance of the submarine movements.
Defense experts say a lack of money and organizational chaos has kept the vessels in port since the break-up of the Soviet Union.
"They may simply be trying to stop them going rusty," one defense analyst said.
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