UK Prime Minister condemns Russian warship targeting British yacht
Photo: Keir Starmer (Getty Images)
The warning shots fired by the Russian warship Admiral Grigorovich at a British civilian yacht in the English Channel were 'reckless', says UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The UK Prime Minister comments on the incident involving a Russian frigate during his visit to France, where the G7 summit is taking place. He condemns the actions of the Russian military near British territorial waters.
"What happened in the Channel was deeply concerning. It was reckless. That shouldn't have happened. It is reckless, and the couple on the yacht must've been terrified," Starmer emphasizes.
According to the UK Ministry of Defense, the Russian military vessel was adrift at the time of the incident. The Ministry confirms that the shots fired at the civilian vessel were warning shots.
Background
The day before, the Admiral Grigorovich fired warning shots near a British civilian yacht in the English Channel.
The incident occurred after the vessels came within a short distance of each other. The Russian military ship fired several warning shots.
The Admiral Grigorovich is part of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and has been operating near British territorial waters for several weeks. It has also been escorting tankers from Russia’s shadow fleet.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the British yacht allegedly approached the warship dangerously closely and did not respond to radio communications. According to the Russian side, this is why the decision was made to fire a warning shot.
Recently, Western countries have stepped up measures against schemes designed to circumvent oil sanctions against Russia. In particular, in early June, the EU authorized the forced detention of vessels belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet.
Against this backdrop, radical proposals have been put forward in the Federation Council of Russia to plant explosives on shadow fleet tankers and subsequently detonate them if they are detained by foreign states, a move that could lead to large-scale environmental disasters.
