Key takeaways:
- British authorities received reports that a Russian Navy vessel fired warning shots about 500 yards from a UK-registered yacht south of the Isle of Wight.
- The incident occurred outside UK territorial waters, and no injuries or damage to the yacht have been reported.
- The BBC reported the vessel was the Admiral Grigorovich, which was being monitored by Royal Navy ships including HMS Mersey.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence is investigating reports that a Russian warship fired warning shots near a UK-registered yacht in the English Channel on Tuesday morning, in an incident officials said caused no injuries or damage.
The episode took place outside UK territorial waters, around 20 nautical miles, or about 23 miles, south of the Isle of Wight, between the English island and Normandy. British authorities received reports from the yacht’s occupants that a Russian Navy vessel fired warning shots from about 500 yards, or 457 meters, away.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “We are investigating reports of an incident in the Channel.”
The BBC reported that the Russian vessel involved was the frigate Admiral Grigorovich. BBC News said it understood the small, motor-less yacht had drifted toward the warship in foggy conditions after setting off from the UK. The Russian vessel sounded an audible warning before firing warning shots to get the yacht to move out of its way, the BBC reported.
A British official familiar with the incident told NBC News that no injuries or damage had been reported and that the yacht was continuing its journey. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the international issue, said the incident was being viewed as isolated.
The Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Mersey was monitoring the Russian vessel at the time, according to the British official. The BBC also reported that the frigate thought to be involved was being shadowed by HMS Mersey.
The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
Russian warships regularly pass through the English Channel and are routinely monitored by Royal Navy vessels. On Monday, the Navy said the Admiral Grigorovich had been tracked by HMS Tyne and HMS Mersey over the weekend in what it described as a “routine operation” after the frigate was spotted off the coast of Brest in France, the BBC reported.
The incident followed a separate operation on Sunday in which Royal Marine Commandos intercepted a Russian shadow fleet tanker carrying sanctioned oil in the Channel, the BBC reported. It was the first operation of its kind carried out by the British military. British officials do not view Tuesday’s incident as linked to that operation and are treating it as a separate matter, according to the BBC.
The BBC also reported that a NATO source told BBC Verify last week that Moscow had ordered the Admiral Grigorovich to escort shadow fleet vessels through the Channel. The frigate is understood to have been operating in the area for some time and to have been repeatedly resupplied by a repair vessel.
Satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify showed the repair vessel PM-82 operating between the Channel and the North Sea in recent months. NATO officials believe the PM-82 delivered food, water and other supplies to the Admiral Grigorovich, allowing it to remain at sea for extended periods and lead Russian convoys through the Channel, the BBC reported. In April, the frigate was reported to have escorted six shadow fleet vessels through the waterway while being monitored by the Royal Navy.
The Ministry of Defence is treating Tuesday’s reported warning shots as an isolated incident so far, though the BBC noted it comes during heightened tension with Russia over the UK’s continuing support for Ukraine.
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