Lyce · Hybrid Watch
hw_19b89402b929ea1e
Russian ship fires shots near a yacht in the English Channel.
A British couple that was on a yacht had warning shots fired near their boat by a Russian warship in the English channel. The couple was sailing 37 km off the Isle of Wight in international waters when they came in a close contact with the Russian frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich on Tuesday (June 16). Russia’s Defence Ministry said the yacht had been on a “dangerous approach” towards the warship but the couple said they were “not on a collision course”. The incident comes days after Royal Marine Commandos intercepted a Russian shadow fleet tanker carrying sanctioned oil in the Channel on Sunday, in the first operation of its kind carried out by the British military. The Russian Defence Ministry said the Admiral Grigorovich’s crew had fired into the yacht’s path with rifles after making several attempts to contact the yacht over the radio and launching warning flares and the sailors had acted in “strict accordance with international shipping regulations”. British authorities said the yacht had reported the Russian vessel had fired warning shots from around 500 yards (457m) away – a relatively near distance by the standards of sea travel.
E/M/R/S scores
- EExistence0/4 · Not assessed
- MIntent0/4 · Not assessed
- RRussian actor link0/4 · Not assessed
- SRussian state responsibility0/4 · Not assessed
Facts
No facts
Sources
-
- Role
- discovery_lead
- Date
- 2026-06-16T19:12:48Z
A British couple that was on a yacht had warning shots fired near their boat by a Russian warship in the English channel. The couple was sailing 37 km off the Isle of Wight in international waters when they came in a close contact with the Russian frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich on Tuesday (June 16). Russia’s Defence Ministry said the yacht had been on a “dangerous approach” towards the warship but the couple said they were “not on a collision course”. The incident comes days after Royal Marine Commandos intercepted a Russian shadow fleet tanker carrying sanctioned oil in the Channel on Sunday, in the first operation of its kind carried out by the British military. The Russian Defence Ministry said the Admiral Grigorovich’s crew had fired into the yacht’s path with rifles after making several attempts to contact the yacht over the radio and launching warning flares and the sailors had acted in “strict accordance with international shipping regulations”. British authorities said the yacht had reported the Russian vessel had fired warning shots from around 500 yards (457m) away – a relatively near distance by the standards of sea travel.