Russian frigate fires warning shots in English Channel – media
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The UK’s Defense Ministry is reportedly investigating the incident
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The British Defense Ministry is investigating reports that a Russian frigate fired warning shots within 500 meters of a UK-registered yacht in the English Channel, the BBC has reported.
According to the Press Association, the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich fired the shots at 11:40 am local time on Tuesday, as it sailed in international waters between the Isle of Wight and Normandy. The crew of the yacht reportedly told the British Coastguard that the shots had been fired from a distance of around 500 yards (457 meters).
The yacht was not hit, and nobody on board suffered any injuries, according to the BBC.
Speaking to the BBC, the Defense Ministry did not confirm that any shots were fired, only stating that it was “investigating reports of an incident in the Channel.”
The Admiral Grigorovich, a 3,600-ton warship equipped to carry Kalibr cruise missiles, was being followed by a Royal Navy patrol ship – the HMS Mersey – at the time of the alleged incident, the BBC reported. It is unclear how close the HMS Mersey was to the Admiral Grigorovich at the time, or whether the Russian crew interpreted its behavior as hostile.
The alleged incident took place two days after British commandos boarded and seized a Cameroon-flagged tanker supposedly carrying sanctioned Russian oil. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the tanker as belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet,” a euphemism for tankers that carry Russian oil without coverage from Western insurers. The vessel, the ‘Smyrtos’, was boarded in the English Channel.
British officials do not believe that the alleged warning shots were connected with the seizure of the Smyrtos, the BBC reported.
