The Admiral Grigorovich is a Russian warship (file pic) (Image: MOD)
5 things to know as Russian warship Admiral Grigorovich ‘fired warning shots in Channel’
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A Russian warship, the Admiral Grigorovich, fired warning shots near a small, UK-registered yacht in the English Channel on Tuesday. The incident happened in the sea between the Isle of White and Normandy – outside of UK territorial waters – at around 11.40am.
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The motor-less yacht is understood to have alerted British authorities and to have alleged the warship had fired warning shots nearby, at a distance of approximately 500 yards. It didn’t report any injuries or damage. A seaboat from patrol vessel HMS Tyne is understood to have been sent to the yacht to gather details and check on the safety of the crew.
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Defence sources suggested the Russian warship is thought to have first sounded an audible alert as the yacht was reportedly drifting towards the military vessel amid poor visibility. Warning shots were fired by the Russian ship only later to further alert the small boat, as it reportedly hadn’t changed its course, and were not thought to have been fired directly at the yacht, the sources added.
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A Ministry of Defence spokesman said on Tuesday afternoon it was “investigating reports of an incident in the Channel”.
- Russia said one of its frigates fired warning shots “pre-emptively”. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed in a statement the yacht was “following a dangerous course” towards the warship. Russia said “the frigate’s crew made several attempts to contact the civilian vessel on the international radio channel” but “there was no change” in the yacht’s course or response. Only after flares were fired and sound signals used to no avail, “the frigate’s commander decided to fire pre-emptively at the vessel’s course with small arms”, which prompted the yacht to change course, Russia said.
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Russian warships passing through the English Channel are routinely shadowed by the Royal Navy, with offshore patrol vessel HMS Mersey believed to be monitoring the Admiral Grigorovich today. The same Russian vessel was being tracked on Sunday by Tyne and Mersey over the weekend, in what was described as a “routine operation” after it was spotted off the coast of Brest, in France.