Russian warship fires warning shots at UK-registered yacht in English Channel; London investigates
A Russian frigate fired warning shots at a British yacht south of the Isle of Wight on Tuesday, prompting a UK defence ministry investigation. Moscow said the vessel was approaching dangerously.
Shot fired
The incident occurred around 11:40 am on Tuesday, about 40 km south of the Isle of Wight, outside UK territorial waters. A UK-registered yacht reported that a Russian frigate, believed to be of the Admiral Grigorovich class, fired several warning shots while the yacht was approximately 450 metres away. No projectiles hit the vessel and no one was injured.
Investigation launched
The Russian warship was being monitored by a Royal Navy patrol vessel at the time, and the HMS Tyne later conducted a welfare check on the yacht, confirming no damage.We are investigating reports of an incident in the Channel.
Moscow blames the yacht
In a statement on Tuesday evening, Russian authorities accused the yacht of approaching dangerously close to the frigate.
The UK defence source described the event as an isolated incident with no connection to Sunday's shadow fleet operation.The yacht was dangerously approaching a Russian frigate.
Shadow fleet crackdown
The warning shots came two days after a joint French-UK operation intercepted the Russian shadow fleet tanker Smyrtos in the same stretch of water. Royal Marine commandos boarded the vessel at night, fast-roping from a helicopter. The captain, Indian national Ajay Pant, was charged with breaching UK sanctions on the shadow fleet, appeared remotely at Southampton magistrates court on Tuesday, and was remanded in custody until a hearing on 16 July.
