Russia fires ‘warning shots’ against British ship, Moscow Defence Ministry says

A Russian warship and fighter jets fired warning shots at a British ship to stop it entering its waters, Russia has claimed.

The skirmish, which allegedly took place off Cape Florint in Crimea, comes amid growing tensions in the Black Sea region.

According to a timeline presented by the Russian defence ministry, HMS Defender entered Russian territorial waters shortly before noon on Wednesday.

A Russian coastguard fired two warning shots about a quarter of an hour later.

Ten minutes later, Su-24M fighter jets dropped four high explosive fragmentation bombs in the British ship’s path.

The Defender left Russian waters soon afterwards, but only having ventured as much as 3 kilometres (2 miles) inside, the ministry said.

“The destroyer had been warned that weapons would be used if it trespasses the border of the Russian Federation. It did not react to the warning,” it said.

However, a spokesman for the British Ministry of Defence denied any warning shots had been fired and also claimed that HMS Defender was in international waters.

“No warning shots have been fired at HMS Defender,” read a tweet from the MoD. “The Royal Navy ship is conducting innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters in accordance with international law.”

It continued: “We believe the Russians were undertaking a gunnery exercise in the Black Sea and provided the maritime community with prior-warning of their activity. No shots were directed at HMS Defender and we do not recognise the claim that bombs were dropped in her path.”

Moscow has summoned the British military attache over the incident.

The Black Sea has been a regular focus for tensions between Russia and the West since the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s security chief Alexei Danilov accused Moscow of attempting to turn the Black Sea an exclusively Russian “lake.”

News agencies reported that an official statement from Ukraine claimed the incident demonstrated that Russian policy was a “continuous threat to Ukraine and its allies.”

More details to follow