The UK is investigating the firing of warning shots by a Russian warship near a British yacht just outside of its territorial waters.
The UK received reports from a UK-registered yacht alleging Russia’s Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate fired the shots at a distance of approximately 500 yards (457 meters), near a point 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) south of the Isle of Wight.
No injuries or damage were reported, and the UK is treating the matter as an isolated incident which isn’t linked to its military operation against a sanctioned oil tanker that took place on Sunday, according to officials.
Instead they believe it was what’s known as a near miss at sea, in which the sail boat got too close to the frigate and was warned to move away, they said, asking not to be named in line with departmental policy. The shots weren’t fired directly at the yacht.
Read more: UK Forces Board Sanctioned Tanker in Russian Shadow-Fleet Raid
“We are investigating reports of an incident in the Channel,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the incident. According to a statement released late Tuesday, the yacht approached the frigate and failed to respond to repeated radio calls, flares, and sound signals until warning shots were fired.
“After closing the distance to 150 meters, the frigate’s commander decided to fire preemptively at the vessel with small arms. After this, the British-flagged yacht immediately changed course and moved away from the Russian warship,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in the statement on Telegram.
“The crew of the frigate Admiral Grigorovich acted in strict compliance with international navigation regulations and took all necessary measures to prevent the incident,” it said.
The yacht is continuing its journey and has been visited by a British sea boat to gather details and check the passengers’ safety, the officials said. A UK naval patrol boat was at the time monitoring the Russian vessel, which has been in the channel for a number of weeks.
The incident marks the latest escalation between Russia and NATO. Russia has been probing North Atlantic Treaty Organization airspace over several months, including with drones and warplanes. It follows soon after the first British-led operation to target Russia’s so-called shadow fleet on Sunday.
Royal Marine Commandos and officers from the National Crime Agency boarded the Smyrtos in UK territorial waters, which was then moved to an anchorage off England’s south coast for authorities to conduct a separate investigation. The ship’s captain was charged for allegedly breaching sanctions.
The UK said the action was carried out under domestic and international law, after Prime Minister Keir Starmer approved the boarding of shadow-fleet vessels in March. The government said the ship was targeted as part of efforts to enforce sanctions designed to curb revenue used to fund President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
The UK has sanctioned almost 600 vessels linked to Russia’s shadow fleet, which it says numbers more than 700 ships and carries about three-quarters of Russia’s sanctioned oil. Britain said ships sanctioned by the UK carried $1.6 billion less Russian oil in the first quarter of 2025 than a year earlier.
Photograph: The Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich is monitored by the Royal Navy’s RFA Tideforce in this handout image provided by the UK Ministry of Defence; photo credit: UK MoD
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