A new incident involving the Russian navy and a civilian vessel has occurred in the English Channel. According to a source close to the matter, sailors aboard the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich fired warning shots at a civilian yacht that had approached the warship near British waters.
The British Ministry of Defence has confirmed it has launched an investigation into reports of the incident. Initial reports indicate no injuries.
According to the source cited by Reuters, the yacht in question, registered in the United Kingdom, reported that warning shots were fired when it was approximately 500 meters from the Russian vessel. The incident reportedly occurred about 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, outside British territorial waters.
At the time of the incident, the Russian frigate was being monitored by a Royal Navy vessel. British authorities closely monitor the movements of Russian military ships transiting waters near the United Kingdom, particularly since the start of the war in Ukraine.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions between London and Moscow. A few days earlier, British commandos had carried out an unprecedented operation in the English Channel against a sanctioned Russian oil tanker, suspected of belonging to the "ghost fleet" used to circumvent Western restrictions on oil exports.
This intervention aimed to disrupt oil revenues that British authorities believe contribute to financing the Russian war effort in Ukraine. The proximity of these two events risks further fueling already significant maritime tensions between the United Kingdom and Russia in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
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