English Channel incident: UK probes report Russian warship fired warning shots near UK yacht

The British military was investigating reports that a Russian warship fired warning shots near a civilian UK-registered yacht in the English Channel. The Defence Ministry said, "we are investigating reports of an incident in the Channel.\" The yacht reported shots from a Russian navy vessel about 500 yards away. No injuries or damage were reported.

Representative image

The reported firing took place on Tuesday, about 30 kilometres south of the Isle of Wight. The location was outside UK territorial waters. British media reported the Russian vessel was the frigate Admiral Grigorovich. Russian warships using the Channel are often watched closely by the Royal Navy.

Russian warship and Royal Navy response in the English Channel

A patrol vessel, HMS Mersey, was monitoring the Russian ship during the reported incident. The Royal Navy regularly shadows Russian vessels moving through the English Channel. Officials did not suggest the monitoring involved any direct engagement. The report focused on the yacht’s claim of warning shots nearby.

The incident followed another high-profile event in the Channel two days earlier. British commandos boarded and detained a sanctioned tanker. The tanker was suspected of being part of the Russian shadow fleet. Officials were not linking the tanker operation with the yacht report.

Russian warship activity near UK waters and past incidents

The UK has reported several close encounters with Russian vessels in the region. In November, Britain warned Moscow after the spy ship Yantar was detected. The ship was spotted on the edge of UK waters north of Scotland. Britain said it was ready to respond to any territorial incursion.

In April, Britain and Norway said they tracked Russian submarines north of the UK. The group included a Russian attack sub and two spy submarines. A Royal Navy frigate, aircraft, and many personnel followed them for weeks. Then-Defence Secretary John Healey said they were stopped from targeting underwater infrastructure.

John Healey said the tracking effort aimed to block threats to underwater systems. John Healey also accused Moscow of using a wider crisis as cover. John Healey said Russia used the distraction of the Iran war. John Healey said this allowed malign activity against Europe to increase.

The Defence Ministry continued assessing what happened in the Channel. The report described warning shots but no harm to the yacht. The location remained outside UK territorial waters, near the Isle of Wight. Royal Navy monitoring was in place at the time. Officials also maintained that the separate tanker detention was not connected.

With inputs from PTI