Russian warship fires warning shots near British yacht in Channel
A Russian warship fired warning shots near a British yacht in the English Channel, in an incident that prompted scrutiny in the United Kingdom and conflicting accounts from London and Moscow.
The encounter took place on June 16, when the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich fired flares and warning rifle shots as the British yacht Bright Future approached in foggy conditions, about 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight. The shots were fired into the air from a distance of roughly 500 yards, and no damage or injuries were reported.
Accounts of the lead-up differ. Russia's defence ministry said the yacht had come within 150 metres of the warship and that earlier attempts to make contact by radio and warning flares had been ignored. The yacht's crew denied that the warship had tried to reach them by radio or that flares had been fired beforehand.
The yacht was eventually assisted by a boat from the Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Tyne. The Admiral Grigorovich, which was escorting Russian-flagged vessels through the Channel, had been shadowed during its passage by HMS Mersey.
The episode added to tensions around Russian naval activity near European waters, with British authorities reviewing the circumstances. Such encounters have become a recurring source of friction as NATO states closely monitor the movement of Russian vessels.
