UK PM calls Russian warship warning shots 'reckless' after Channel scare for British couple

A Russian frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich, fired four to five small-arms warning shots near the yacht Bright Future on the morning of 16 June 2026, about 20 nautical miles (37km) south of the Isle of Wight. The retired British couple on board, Jane and Alan Kelvey, were unharmed but described the experience as surreal and scary.

The encounter

Jane Kelvey, 68, told the BBC that they first noticed a vessel not showing on their AIS system and, as they closed to 400-500 metres, saw Cyrillic lettering on the hull. The warship sounded five horn blasts, which they interpreted as a query about being seen.

“Immediately we turned two degrees to port, so that they could see we've made a deliberate change of course, which meant we had seen them.”

About a minute later, another five horn blasts were immediately followed by the small-arms fire.

“It was a bit scary. I crouched down. I didn't think our safety was in danger. But it was certainly unusual. As we sailed away, we said to each other, what the hell just happened?”

Diverging accounts

Russia's Defence Ministry insisted that the yacht was on a "dangerous course" and that the crew of the Admiral Grigorovich first tried to contact it by radio, launched warning flares and used sound signals. After the distance closed to 150 metres, the commander decided to fire warning shots across the bow using small arms in "strict conformity with international regulations of navigation". The UK Ministry of Defence also stated that the shots were not directed at the vessel but were an attempt to avoid a possible collision.

“Those shots were not directed at the vessel; they were an attempt to avoid a possible collision.”

However, the Kelveys disputed the collision-risk claim. Alan Kelvey, 70, told the BBC that the yacht was "definitely not on a collision course", and in remarks to the Daily Telegraph he accused the Ministry of Defence of trying to shut the story down by suggesting there was fog and that only flares were fired. The couple said no flares were visible.

Reactions in London and Moscow

Speaking from the G7 summit in France, Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the incident "deeply concerning" and the Russian crew's actions reckless, even as British defence officials concluded the shots were not "anything more sinister" than an effort to avert a collision.

“That doesn't take away from the fact that clearly Russia is aggressive across Europe.”

Russian state-aligned media presented the episode as a legal response to "British provocation".

A backdrop of tension

The Channel scare occurred just two days after Britain seized a tanker from Russia's so-called shadow fleet, used to evade sanctions on oil exports imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. London has also accused Moscow of running campaigns of sabotage and misinformation meant to destabilise European nations supporting Ukraine.