Two Russian ships, including one warship and a tanker, were intercepted in the English Channel by the Royal Navy – this is a breaking story
Two Russian warships were intercepted in the English Channel by a UK patrol ship, the Ministry of Defence has said.
HMS Severn intercepted the Russian corvette RFN Stoikiy and the tanker Yelnya as they sailed through the Dover Strait into the English Channel within the past fortnight. The patrol ship later handed over monitoring duties to an unidentified NATO ally off the coast of Brittany.
The ministry said Russian naval activity around UK waters has risen by 30 percent in the last two years. In addition to the ships operating near the UK coast, Britain has deployed three Poseidon surveillance aircraft to Iceland as part of a NATO mission monitoring Russian ships and submarines in the North Atlantic and Arctic, the ministry added.
It comes just days after Defence Secretary John Healey revealed that the Russian spy ship Yantar had been spotted off the coast of Scotland, where it used lasers to disrupt RAF pilots tracking its movements.
Healey described Yantar’s actions as “deeply dangerous” and issued a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday: “My message to Russia and to Putin is this: We see you. We know what you’re doing.”
In response to the defence secretary’s comments, the Russian Embassy in London accused the British government of “whipping up militaristic hysteria”, adding that Moscow has no interest in undermining the country’s security.
Healey’s comments came as he pushed for increased defence spending before the government releases its new budget on November 26. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged big military spending increases in response to threats from Russia, China and Iran, but the government faces tricky tradeoffs, including potential tax rises and spending cuts, to close a multi-billion-pound budget shortfall.
