The Royal Navy’s HMS Westminster escorts Russian Steregushchiy class ship Boiky (532) through the English Channel off Britain’s coast, January 8, 2018. . LPhot Louise George Royal navy handout via REUTERS
LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) – A British frigate escorted Russian ships through the English Channel on Monday, Britain’s defense ministry said, adding that it was the latest sign of an upsurge in Russian naval activity near UK waters over the festive period.
Royal Navy frigate HMS Westminster was sent to monitor four Russian vessels over the weekend as they passed close to British waters, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said, and will stay with the warships as they head north.
The MoD added that two Russian frigates, Soobrazitelny and Boiky, and support vessels, Paradoks and Kola, were believed to be returning from operations in the Middle East.
“The English Channel is an absolute lifeline for the UK, and it is very important HMS Westminster and the Royal Navy maintains a watchful eye on this key strategic link,” Simon Kelly, Commanding Officer of HMS Westminster, said in a statement.
Britain said that the number of such incidents had increased in recent weeks.
Over Christmas, a British ship escorted new Russian warship Admiral Gorshkov as it passed near UK territorial waters, which Britain said was one of a four of vessels monitored during that period. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Michael Holden)
By Tony Capaccio (Bloomberg) — The shipyard producing the US Navy’s new frigate has been hobbled by a failure to “achieve engineering and skilled workforce levels” for the medium-sized vessel, according...
The UK has become the indefinite base for two Ukrainian Navy ships due to Turkey’s blocking of access to the Black Sea amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. The Sandown-class...
The UK Ministry of Defence announced on Friday that the DragonFire laser weapons system will be operational on Royal Navy warships from 2027, five years earlier than previously planned. This...
April 12, 2024
Total Views: 1759
Why Join the gCaptain Club?
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.