Russian warship fires warning shots at pleasure yacht

A Russian warship fired warning shots Tuesday at a British-registered pleasure yacht in the English Channel, authorities said. This incident, which caused no damage, nevertheless illustrates the rise in tensions between the two countries.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense said it was investigating an “incident” after the yacht reported being targeted by a Russian navy ship about 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) south of the Isle of Wight, outside territorial waters. British.

No injuries or damage were reported on board the sailboat, which continued its route from the United Kingdom to France.

The BBC reported that the sailboat, without an engine, had drifted towards the Russian ship in foggy conditions.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the crew of the frigate “Admiral Grigorovich” had tried to contact the sailboat when it was seen sailing on a “dangerous course in the immediate vicinity of the ship war.”

He said the ship’s crew launched flares and sound signals when the sailboat did not respond.

“When the distance was reduced to 150 meters, the commander of the frigate decided to fire warning shots at the bow of the yacht using small arms,” the ministry said. He said the yacht then changed course and moved away.

The ministry said the ship’s crew had “acted in strict accordance” with international navigation rules to avoid a collision.

Russian warships crossing the English Channel are regularly closely monitored by the Royal Navy, and the patrol vessel HMS Mersey was monitoring the Russian vessel at the time of the reported incident. The ministry said it was investigating Tuesday’s incident.

The British military said last month it had monitored the Admiral Grigorovich throughout April, as the Russian ship escorted six Russian-linked civilian ships near the British coast.

This altercation occurred two days after British commandos boarded and detained an oil tanker subject to sanctions in the Channel, suspected of being part of the Russian “ghost fleet”. However, the authorities have not established any link between these two events.

The tanker’s captain, an Indian national accused of transporting Russian oil in violation of international sanctions linked to Moscow’s war against Ukraine, was detained after appearing in court on Tuesday.

The British military has had several close encounters with Russian ships in the region and warned Moscow in November that it was prepared to deal with any incursions into its territory after the Yantar spy ship was detected on the edge of British waters north of Scotland.

In April, the United Kingdom and Norway said they had tracked a Russian attack submarine and two spy submarines operating north of the United Kingdom for several weeks.