UK Govt Confirms Russian Warship Fired ‘Warning Shots’ at British Yacht in English Channel.

WHAT HAPPENED: A Russian frigate fired warning shots at a British-registered yacht in the English Channel, approximately 20 nautical miles from the Isle of Wight off the southern coast of England, the British government has confirmed.

KEY QUOTE: “Following attempts to contact a British vessel in the Channel, the Grigorovich fired warning shots. These were not aimed at the vessel and were an attempt to prevent a possible collision… We assess that this is an isolated incident and not linked to the UK’s interception of the Smyrtos this weekend.” – British Ministry of Defence spokesman.

DETAIL: The Admiral Grigorovich fired warning shots at Bright Future, a 12-meter-long British sailing yacht, to avoid a collision on Tuesday, according to the Russian and British defense ministries. Shots were fired after warning signals failed to draw the yacht’s attention. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the shots were fired in compliance with international shipping regulations and that HMS Mersey, a Royal Navy patrol vessel, was monitoring the Russian vessel at the time, and another patrol vessel, HMS Tyne, was dispatched to check on the yacht’s crew. Notably, the episode follows Britain’s interception of the Russian “shadow” tanker Smyrtos, with initial speculation that the two incidents may have been linked.

IMPACT: The incident has raised concerns about British maritime safety and heightened tensions between Russia and the United Kingdom. This follows the capture by British forces on Sunday of the Smyrtos, a tanker in Russia’s “shadow” fleet carrying 98,000 tonnes of oil, for allegedly breaching sanctions.