A Russian frigate conducted live-fire exercises off the coast of Great Britain
The Russian frigate *Neustrashimy* conducted artillery drills involving live-fire exercises off the southwestern coast of Great Britain. The maneuvers took place the day after Andy Bernam was appointed the country’s new prime minister.
According to the publication, the live-fire exercises took place on July 21, approximately 74 kilometers south of Plymouth in the English Channel. The exercises lasted about 30 minutes and took place in international waters.
Before the maneuvers began, a Russian ship accompanying the British patrol vessel HMS Tyne warned it of its intention to conduct the firing exercises and asked it to move to a safe distance. A French military aircraft also observed the exercises.
The British Ministry of Defense stated that the Royal Navy was in control of the situation and continues to closely monitor the Russian vessel’s actions.
The Kremlin denied that the exercises were a political message to the new British government. Russian Presidential Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that all actions by Russian military ships are carried out in accordance with international maritime law.
As the BBC notes, the incident occurred amid increased activity by the Russian navy near British waters. The British Ministry of Defense declined to comment on whether the exercises might be linked to the change in the head of government.
This is not the first such incident in recent times. In June, British marines detained a Russian tanker from the so-called “shadow fleet” in the English Channel that was subject to EU and Swiss sanctions. Later, the Russian frigate *Admiral Grigorovich*, which was escorting the tankers, fired warning shots at a British yacht, claiming that it allegedly posed a threat to the ship. The vessel’s owners denied these allegations.
The Moscow Times reported this, citing the BBC.
As a reminder, the active phase of the international Sea Breeze exercises, led by Ukraine, is currently underway in the United Kingdom.
The Ukrainian Navy reported the destruction of the Russian FSB border patrol vessel “Izumrud” near Novorossiysk. According to the military, the strike on the vessel was carried out using the Sargan-3000 system.
