Russia says – Russia’s military says a frigate fired from small arms after multiple attempts to warn a British-flagged yacht during an incident reported between England’s Isle of Wight and Normandy, days after a sanctioned Russian oil tanker was boarded in the English Chann
On Tuesday, Russia’s military responded after the United Kingdom said it was investigating reports that a Russian warship fired a warning shot toward a British-registered yacht.
The incident was reported to have taken place around 11:40 a.m. local time, somewhere between the Isle of Wight along England’s south coast and Normandy, France. It came two days after British forces boarded and detained a sanctioned Russian oil tanker in the English Channel.
British media reported the Russian vessel involved was the frigate “Admiral Grigorovich.” When Russian military ships transit the Channel, they are usually shadowed by the Royal Navy, and a patrol vessel was monitoring the ship at the time of the reported incident.
In a later post on Telegram, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said the crew made “several attempts” to call the British vessel, but it did not change direction. To attract the yacht’s crew, the ministry said, signal flares were launched and sound signals were given.
“Despite the measures taken, the vessel continued its dangerous approach,” the post said. It added that after the frigate reduced the distance to 150 meters, the frigate commander decided to preemptively fire on the course of the vessel from small arms.
After that, the ministry said, the yacht under the flag of Great Britain immediately changed course and continued to move away from the Russian warship.
The sequence—an earlier British boarding and detention involving a sanctioned Russian tanker. followed by a separate reported warning-shot incident in nearby waters—places fresh pressure on already tense naval operations in the Channel and beyond. At the center of the dispute is how close events came. who signaled what. and whether the yacht responded in time after the warnings began.
Russia United Kingdom NATO waters warning shot yacht frigate Admiral Grigorovich English Channel Isle of Wight Normandy sanctioned oil tanker