A Russian warship, shadowed by a Royal Navy vessel, conducted a 30-minute live-fire artillery exercise just 40 nautical miles south of Plymouth on Monday.
The Royal Navy monitored the exercise and continues to closely track the vessel’s activity, a spokesperson for the UK Ministry of Defence said, according to The Telegraph.
The Russian frigate, Neustrashimy, was also being monitored by a French military aircraft, which established radio contact with the warship and requested clarification regarding its intentions, the BBC reported.
Before opening fire, the Russian vessel informed the Royal Navy’s offshore patrol ship, HMS Tyne, of its intention to carry out live-fire exercises.
The Russian warship requested that HMS Tyne move to a safer distance, which it did. The exercise took place in international waters and lasted approximately 30 minutes.
The incident serves as a reminder to Britain’s new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, of the increasing level of Russian naval activity near UK waters in recent months.
UK defence sources declined to comment on whether the timing of the exercise may have been intended to coincide with the beginning of Burnham’s term as prime minister.
Last month, Royal Marines boarded a Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker in the English Channel during a six-hour operation—the first of its kind carried out by the British Armed Forces.
Earlier in June, a British couple sailing in international waters in the English Channel encountered the Russian warship Admiral Grigorovich, approximately 23 miles (37 km) off the Isle of Wight.
The frigate fired warning shots as Jane and Alan Kelvey sailed their yacht in what Russia’s Ministry of Defence described as a “dangerous approach.” The couple, however, said they were not on a collision course.
Russian naval vessels regularly transit through international waters in the English Channel, which are separate from the territorial waters of the United Kingdom and France.
