Russia tested the resolve of Britain’s new government by conducting an unusual live-fire naval exercise in international waters approximately 40 nautical miles south of Plymouth on Monday 20 July.
The drill took place in the English Channel on the day Andy Burnham became Prime Minister. Britain’s new Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, described the exercise as “performative and irresponsible”.
The Russian Baltic Fleet frigate Neustrashimy, which had recently escorted Russian “shadow fleet” oil tankers through the English Channel and had been sighted in the North Sea earlier in July, informed the Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Tyne that it intended to conduct gunnery exercises. HMS Tyne repositioned approximately five nautical miles away and monitored the 30-minute drill, during which the Russian frigate fired its 100mm main gun.
This was the second recent incident involving a Russian frigate firing close to the British coast. On 16 June, the Admiral Grigorovich fired warning shots at a British-flagged yacht approximately 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight. The Admiral Grigorovich was previously escorting Russian shadow fleet tankers until it berthed in Kaliningrad. It has now been replaced by the Neustrashimy.
Sky News captured footage of the Neustrashimy escorting a Russian vessel.
Newsroom
Leave a Reply