Sailors on board a Russian frigate fired warning shots at a civilian yacht that had come near to it in the English Channel, close to British territorial waters, a source familiar with the incident on Tuesday said.
Britain’s ministry of defence said it was investigating reports of an incident in the Channel. No injuries or damage to the yacht were reported.
The incident involved the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich, according to the source familiar with the incident.
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Russian warships passing through the English Channel are routinely shadowed by the Royal Navy, and patrol vessel HMS Mersey was monitoring the Russian ship at the time of the reported incident.
A UK-registered yacht alleged that a Russian Navy vessel had fired the warning shots at a distance of around 450 metres (500 yards), the source said. It took place about 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, outside UK territorial waters.
On Sunday, British commandos boarded and intercepted a sanctioned Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker in the Channel, leading for the first time an operation to disrupt the oil revenue that helps fund Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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