The British military discovered the existence of the devices and deemed them a potential threat to national security, the paper reported.
The devices have been characterised as being part of a hybrid – or “grey zone” – war being fought by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Other activities of such warfare could include doing damage to infrastructure assets, such as energy pipelines.
The accusations come after the Royal Navy released images in March of a Russian warship that it tracked sailing near British waters.
Named Boikiy, it is one of several Russian vessels to have been tracked sailing near the British coast in recent months.
Defence Secretary John Healey told MPs in January that the Royal Navy had monitored a Russian spy ship after it was spotted around UK waters – accusing the vessel, called Yantar, of being used to gather intelligence and map the UK’s underwater infrastructure.
Former Conservative defence and Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood has warned that the UK is “behind the curve” in tracking Russia’s deep-sea operations.
Ellwood told the Guardian, external earlier this month the use of sensors was “only half the story”, claiming that Russia has established “remote seabed platforms” off the UK coast that act as recharging stations for dozens of mini-submarines “to map our undersea cable networks for potential sabotage”.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told BBC News: “We are committed to maintaining and enhancing the security and resilience of critical undersea infrastructure.
“Just as the defence secretary called out the activities of the Russian spy ship Yantar hovering over our undersea cables, let those who threaten the UK or our allies be in no doubt that we will defend our undersea infrastructure.”
Responding to the Sunday Times investigation into the sensors, an MoD spokesman said: “Alongside our NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force allies, we are strengthening our response to ensure that Russian ships and aircraft cannot operate in secrecy near the UK or near NATO territory, harnessing new technologies like AI and coordinating patrols with our allies.
“And our continuous-at-sea nuclear deterrent continues to patrol the world’s oceans undetected as it has done for 56 years.”