Sailors aboard a Russian frigate fired warning shots at a civilian sailing vessel in international waters off the coast of Britain in the English Channel, Sky News reported on Tuesday, citing the British news agency Press Association. The incident occurred on Tuesday morning and is said to have involved the Russian frigate "Admiral Grigorovich," which was sailing in the waters between the British Isle of Wight and the French coast of Normandy.
The incident is the latest sign of increasing tension between Russia and Britain. It comes just days after an operation on Sunday in which British forces boarded the tanker Smyrtos, reportedly belonging to Russia's so-called "shadow fleet," which was sailing in the Channel.
The British Ministry of Defence is reportedly confirming the incident involving the Russian warship in the Channel earlier today. A ministry spokesman said: "We are investigating reports of an incident in the Channel."
In the incident, the crew of a British-flagged sailing boat claimed that the Russian frigate fired warning shots at close range, about 457 meters from the vessel. According to the same information, the shots occurred about 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, outside British territorial waters, with no injuries or damage reported.
Russian warships passing through the Channel are routinely monitored by the British Royal Navy. On Tuesday, the patrol vessel HMS Mersey was tasked with monitoring the Admiral Grigorovich frigate. Meanwhile, a fast boat from the patrol vessel HMS Tyne was sent to the sailing vessel to gather information about the incident and check on the crew's condition and safety.
In a separate announcement published on Monday, the British Royal Navy said that two British warships were monitoring the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich during its passage through the Channel, west of the French city of Brest. At the same time, the British Foreign Office announced a new package of sanctions against Russia, targeting ships of the "shadow fleet" that Moscow uses for oil exports, as well as individuals and networks believed to support Russian energy trade and help circumvent Western sanctions.
