Russian frigate opens fire near British yacht in English Channel

The incident occurred 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, outside British territorial waters.

The Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich fired warning shots near the British yacht Bright Future while passing through the English Channel. The Telegraph reports. 

The incident occurred on June 16 at around 11:40 a.m., 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, outside British territorial waters. According to the yacht’s crew, the frigate fired several warning shots after the ships came close.

No one was injured, and the yacht continued through the strait. Later, a patrol boat from the HMS Tyne approached it to check on the crew and gather information.

The versions of the parties differ. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the shooting, but said that the yacht was allegedly approaching the frigate on a “dangerous course.” According to the Russian version, the frigate’s crew repeatedly tried to establish radio contact and gave sound and light signals – the yacht did not respond. When the distance was reduced to 150 meters, the frigate’s commander ordered warning fire from small arms along the yacht’s course.

After the incident, Great Britain and France increased monitoring in the English Channel area. A Royal Navy Wildcat HMA.2 helicopter was also involved.

Reference: “Admiral Grigorovich” is a guided missile frigate from the Russian Black Sea Fleet. For several weeks, it was near British waters, where it was noticed escorting tankers of the “shadow fleet”, as well as near a wind farm off the coast of Suffolk.

The incident comes two days after British marines boarded the sanctioned tanker Smyrtos in the same waters. The coincidence with the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, where leaders are discussing Russia’s war in Ukraine, adds symbolic context to the event.