Minister Warns Putin After Russian Ship Fires Warning Shots Near British Yacht

A government minister warned Vladimir Putin “we see you” after a Russian warship fired warning shots near a British yacht in the English Channel.

Jane Kelvey, 68, and her husband Alan, 70, were on their 40ft vessel, Bright Future, travelling towards France when the shots were fired several times from the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich on Tuesday.

“It was a bit scary,” Mrs Kelvey told The i Paper. “I crouched down. I didn’t think our safety was in danger. But it was certainly unusual. As we sailed away, we said to each other, what the hell just happened?”

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Admiral Grigorovich fired warning shots after making attempts to contact the yacht, which was about 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, outside the UK’s territorial waters.

An MoD spokesperson said: “These [shots] were not aimed at the vessel and were an attempt to prevent a possible collision.”

Nevertheless, Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said the incident was further evidence of Russian aggression.

He told BBC Breakfast: “Let’s be in no doubt. Our message to Vladimir Putin is we see you, we see your activity, whether that is in waters around the UK coast or indeed whether that is in terms of cyber, or hybrid or any other modern forms of warfare.

“Vladimir Putin should be in no doubt that we will not hesitate to take the action that’s necessary to defend our country and our people.”

The minister added: “This government is absolutely determined in the face of that Russian threat to do all we can to keep this country safe.”

Russian warships passing through the English Channel are routinely shadowed by the Royal Navy, with offshore patrol vessel HMS Mersey monitoring the Admiral Grigorovich at the time of the incident on Tuesday.

The incident happened just days after UK armed forces intercepted a Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker in the English Channel.

Royal Marine commandos and specially-trained law enforcement officers boarded the sanctioned vessel Smyrtos in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Shadow vessels carry sanctioned Russian oil, which is sold to raise funds to pay for the Kremlin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

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