Russian warship carried out firing exercise off Plymouth coast

Shadowed by a Royal Navy ship, a Russian warship conducted a live-fire gunnery exercise just 46 miles (74 km) south of Plymouth on Monday.

A Ministry of Defense (MoD) spokesman said the Royal Navy was monitoring the exercise and continued to “closely monitor the ship’s activities”.

According to the information given to the BBC, it was said that the Russian frigate Neustrashimy (Turkish: Dauntless) was also monitored by a French military aircraft and was asked to clarify its intentions by establishing radio contact with the warship.

The BBC was told that the Russian warship notified the Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Ship HMS Tyne of its intention to carry out gunnery activity before opening fire.

The Russian warship requested that HMS Tyne be repositioned to a safer distance, which she did. Russia’s live fire exercise in international waters lasted 30 minutes.

The incident will remind the new prime minister of increased Russian naval activity near British waters in recent months. UK defense sources did not comment on whether the incident was timed to coincide with the start of Andy Burnham’s premiership.

Last month, Royal Marine Commandos boarded a Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker in the English Channel in a six-hour operation, the first of its kind by the British Armed Forces.

Also in June, a British couple in international waters in the English Channel encountered a Russian warship named Admiral Grigorovich 37 miles off the Isle of Wight.

The frigate fired warning shots as Jane and Alan Kelvey set off on their yacht, in what the Russian defense ministry said was a “dangerous approach”. But the couple said they were not on a “collision course.”

Russian warships regularly transit international waters in the Channel, which are separate from British and French territorial waters.