- Category
- World
Russian Black Sea Frigate Fires on British-Flagged Vessel Near UK Waters
Prefer U24 Media on Google
- Authors
![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
A Russian warship fired warning shots at a British-flagged yacht in the English Channel on the morning of June 16.
The UK coastguard received reports of the incident from the civilian vessel, which had been sailing close to the Admiral Grigorovich, a frigate of Russia's Black Sea fleet, according to The Telegraph.
We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.
The shots fired at a civilian boat marked a sharp escalation in a weeks-long standoff in waters off Britain. The frigate has been observed escorting shadow oil tankers and loitering near a wind farm off the Suffolk coast, the outlet reported.
The vessel's crew described the warship opening fire after the two ships passed close to each other in the Channel at around 11.40am (GMT). The encounter occurred some 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, outside UK territorial waters.
Two River-class offshore patrol vessels, HMS Mersey and HMS Tyne, had followed the Russian ship through the Channel on the afternoon of June 15. The pursuit preceded the warning shots, the report noted.
No injuries or damage resulted, and the yacht continued its journey through the Channel, The Telegraph added. A seaboat from HMS Tyne later visited the vessel to gather details and confirm that those aboard were safe.
The Admiral Grigorovich, a Russian Black Sea Fleet frigate, has been operating near British waters for several weeks, the paper reported. Its deployment forms part of a wider pattern of Russian naval activity around the United Kingdom.
In April, former defense secretary John Healey disclosed that Russian submarines had been operating covertly in and near British waters. The Royal Navy and RAF tracked two reconnaissance submarines and an attack submarine over undersea cables in the North Atlantic.
"We are investigating reports of an incident in the Channel," a Ministry of Defense spokesman told The Telegraph. Military sources indicated to the paper that the confrontation was not connected to Britain's seizure days earlier of a Russian shadow tanker.
Britain had moved directly against that trade only days earlier. On June 14, Royal Marines from 42 Commando boarded and detained the Cameroon-flagged tanker Smyrtos in the Channel.
It was the first such operation since London granted its forces expanded powers to target vessels suspected of helping Moscow evade oil sanctions. The six-hour interdiction aimed to disrupt the revenue Russia draws from its shadow fleet to fund the war against Ukraine.
Discuss this article:
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
