Sailors on a Russian warship fired a warning shot at a yacht that came near it in the English Channel, according to the Press Association. The incident has been described as the latest sign of rising tensions between the United Kingdom and Vladimir Putin's Russia.
According to the account, the incident happened on Tuesday morning, at around twenty minutes to twelve. It took place in the sea between the Isle of Wight and Normandy, in the stretch of the Channel that separates the south coast of England from northern France.
The vessel involved is understood to be the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich, which was in the area at the time. The warning shot was reportedly fired as the yacht came close to the warship in those waters.
The episode adds to a series of moments pointing to heightened friction between London and Moscow in and around British waters. It comes at a time when the United Kingdom has been taking a more assertive posture toward Russian vessels passing through the region.
It follows an operation on Sunday, when Royal Marine Commandos, together with officers from the National Crime Agency, boarded a Russian shadow fleet tanker in the Channel. That boarding was part of Britain's wider effort to confront the covert fleet Moscow uses to keep moving sanctioned oil.
As more detail emerged, the incident was reported to have happened at around 11.40 in the morning, roughly 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, outside United Kingdom territorial waters. The warning shot was said to have been fired at a distance of about 500 yards from the UK-registered yacht, with no injuries or damage reported, and the yacht continued its journey.
The Ministry of Defence said it was investigating reports of the incident, with information still coming in. According to the account, the Royal Navy ship HMS Mersey was monitoring the Russian vessel at the time, and the alleged shooting was not thought to be linked to the United Kingdom's seizure of a Russian shadow fleet tanker in the Channel at the weekend.
The Admiral Grigorovich is described as a powerful frigate of Russia's Black Sea Fleet that has been operating in the Channel off the British coast for some time, escorting so-called dark fleet tankers up and down. Analysts noted that, while militarily the warning shot was a minor episode with no one hurt, it fits a pattern of rising tension around British waters, and the Russian ambassador was expected to be summoned over the matter.
Russia later gave its own account of the incident. According to the Russian defence ministry, the frigate's crew made several attempts to contact the yacht and received no response, fired flares to attract its attention, and acted only after the vessel continued what it described as a dangerous approach, with the commander conducting warning fire when the yacht came within about 150 metres. Moscow said its crew had taken all necessary measures to prevent an incident and had acted proportionally.
Parts of that version lined up with what emerged on the British side, where a defence source indicated the shots came after the warship sounded an alarm because the yacht was sailing too close and not changing course, and that the frigate was said to be experiencing engine and steering difficulties at the time. Even so, the firing of warning shots near a civilian yacht between two points so close to British shores was treated as a serious and unusual development.