Russian warship ‘fired warning shots’ at UK yacht

Sailors on a Russian warship fired warning shots at an approaching civilian yacht near the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, a source said.

The UK Ministry of Defense said it was investigating reports of an incident in the Channel.

No injuries were reported.

According to information given to news agencies by a source close to the incident, the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich was involved in the incident, which occurred at 11.40 a.m. on Tuesday, and was being monitored by a ship belonging to the United Kingdom’s royal navy at the time.

The source said that a British-registered yacht claimed that a Russian navy ship fired a warning shot from a distance of about 500 meters.

The incident took place outside UK territorial waters, approximately 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight.

On Sunday, British commandos boarded and intercepted a sanctioned Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker in the Channel; This led, for the first time, to an operation aimed at disrupting Russia’s oil revenues that helped finance its war in Ukraine.

The source said Tuesday’s incident was not seen as linked to this operation and was considered an isolated incident.

The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

with PA