Russian Warship Fires ‘Warning Shots’ Near UK Yacht in Channel

The incident involved the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich and a UK-registered yacht just outside British waters, about 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, a UK defense source told AFP.

The latest naval tension between London and Moscow came after British commandos intercepted and boarded a suspected Russian stay-behind fleet ship in the same part of the Channel on Sunday.

The shooting incident coincided with G7 leaders meeting in eastern France and agreeing on Tuesday to intensify pressure on Russia to end its more than four-year war against Ukraine.

“Following attempts to contact a British ship in the channel, Grigorovich fired warning shots. These were not aimed at the ship and were an attempt to avoid a possible collision,” the UK defense ministry said in an update on the incident. he said.

The ministry insisted the incident was an “isolated” incident unrelated to the UK’s interference with the other ship at the weekend.

According to the UK defense source, the Russian frigate “appeared to drift rather than maneuver under power, which may have made it feel more vulnerable”.

Russia’s defense ministry said Tuesday that “signal flares were fired and sound signals were given” to attract the yacht’s attention.

“Despite these measures, the ship continued to approach dangerously,” Moscow said in a statement. he said.

After this, “the frigate commander decided to fire a warning shot in the direction of the ship using the ship’s light weapons,” he added.

– ‘Surreal’ –

British retired couple Jane and Alan Kelvey, who were on the yacht, described the experience as “surreal” in an interview with the BBC.

Jane Kelvey said the pair “bang the warship’s horn five times before immediately turning two degrees to port so that they could see that we had made a deliberate change of course, which meant that we had seen them.”

“About a minute later they honked their horn five more times, and then immediately opened four to five small arms fire,” he said.

“We don’t think it was aimed at us; we believe it was warning shots rising into the air.”

He disputed Russia’s claims that the yacht was on a “dangerous” approach, saying its ships were not on a collision course.

Alan Kelvey said the gunfire was “unnecessary”.

– Russia ‘shows its teeth’ –

Retired British navy commodore Steve Prest, of the RUSI think tank, said the warning shots could have been caused by the warship “getting a bit nervous”.

“However, in the context of what happened in the context of the (Russian) Dark Fleet and the Royal Marines seizing that ship, I think it was the Russians showing their teeth,” he said in written comments shared with AFP.

Labor MP Tan Dhesi, chairman of the parliamentary defense committee, warned that delays in defense investment and the resignation of UK defense secretary John Healey on Thursday over the spending row were “slowing us down at a time when we need to invest in defence”.

The British-registered yacht claimed that the Russian ship fired warning shots from a distance of about 500 yards (450 meters, 1,500 feet).

No injuries or damage were reported on the yacht, which continued its journey after a aid visit by a sea boat sent from the British warship HMS Tyne.

It is understood that another British naval ship, HMS Mersey, was watching the Russian ship at the time.

Britain’s Royal Navy said it deployed several patrol ships in April to monitor Grigorovich, who was reportedly escorting tankers across the Channel, part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” of sanctions-busting ships.

He added that the frigate escorts Russian-flagged ships “going to and from the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Baltic.”

– Shadow ship captain –

Following Sunday’s ban, British commandos boarded the sanctioned oil tanker Smyrtos, suspected of being part of Russia’s stay-behind fleet, in a dramatic operation hailed by Kiev and London as a blow to Moscow’s war machine.

British prosecutors on Monday charged Smyrtos’ Indian captain Ajay Pant with violating sanctions that England imposed on Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The 38-year-old appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court via video link from Bournemouth police station on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.

He spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and to give his address, stating that he was in India. He also gave no indication of his defence, and his lawyer requested that the case be sent to the crown court.

Pant was remanded in custody ahead of a defense and trial preparation hearing at Bournemouth Crown Court on July 16.