UK’s Starmer says Russian warship’s warning shots in Channel ‘reckless’

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the ⁠firing of warning shots by a Russian frigate to divert a UK-flagged civilian yacht near British ⁠territorial waters was troublesome and “should not have happened”, but was not linked to the seizing of a Russian shadow fleet vessel over the weekend.

The incident involving a British couple traveling on a yacht occurred on Tuesday, according to statements from the defence ⁠ministries of the United Kingdom and Russia.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said the crew of the frigate Admiral Grigorovich spotted the Bright Future travelling ⁠on a course that risked collision with the ship.

The Russian vessel fired warning shots after making attempts to contact the yacht, which was about 20 nautical miles (37km) south of the Isle of Wight, outside the UK’s territorial waters, the ministry said.

It added that the shots were not aimed at the vessel and were an attempt to prevent a possible collision.

Alan Kelvey, 70, who was on the yacht with his wife Jane, insisted they were not on a collision course. He described the Russian statement as “just normal lies”.

The UK’s defence ministry described the incident as “isolated” and not linked to the seizure of a Russian-linked oil tanker suspected of breaching sanctions while transiting the English Channel on Sunday, in the first such action by British forces.

Starmer said the incident involving the yacht did not point to “anything more sinister”. However, it “doesn’t take away from the fact that clearly Russia is aggressive across Europe”.

“We’re seeing the Ukraine war now in its fifth year, clear Russian aggression, and we are seeing state-backed attacks across Europe,” he said.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, where leaders announced they would ramp up pressure on Russia amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the prime minister described the incident as “deeply concerning” and “reckless”.

Russian warships passing through the English Channel are routinely shadowed by the Royal Navy, with the offshore patrol vessel HMS Mersey monitoring the Admiral Grigorovich at the time of the incident.

Along with other Western nations, the UK has barred vessels linked to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” from entering its ports and prohibited British companies from providing insurance, brokerage or financial services to ships transporting Russian oil, which remains a crucial source of revenue for Russia amid its war effort in Ukraine.