British yacht "ignored warnings" approached, Russian warship fired warning shots

[Global Times Special Correspondent Wang Yi] The Russian Ministry of Defense stated on the 16th that a Russian warship fired warning shots at a British yacht in the English Channel on the morning of the same day. Before the incident, the yacht was approaching the Russian ship and had at least ignored one warning from the Russian vessel. The British side claimed that this was an isolated incident, with no casualties and no damage to the yacht.

This rare incident occurred at 11:40 AM local time on the 16th, approximately 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel. According to the British newspaper The Times, at that time, a small yacht named "Bright Future," driven by a British couple, was approaching the Russian frigate "Admiral Grigorovich," but the people on the yacht did not notice the Russian ship.

The Russian frigate noticed the approaching small boat and first attempted to contact them via radio, then sounded its horn and fired signal flares as a warning. However, the yacht continued to approach. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that when the yacht was only 150 meters away from the Russian ship, the Russian side fired warning shots, after which the yacht changed direction.

A spokesperson for the British Ministry of Defense confirmed to the BBC: "The warning shots were not aimed at the vessel, but were an attempt to prevent a possible collision."

According to The Times, a source from the British Ministry of Defense stated that earlier that day, there was significant fog on the sea, and the two vessels were too close together. The report also mentioned that the Russian frigate involved had its engines turned off and was drifting with the waves, which meant it could not quickly maneuver to avoid a collision, while the "Bright Future" is a sailing yacht that might also have difficulty avoiding it if the wind was weak at the time.

Just a few days earlier, the British military intercepted a sanctioned Russian "shadow fleet" tanker in the English Channel. However, British analysts believe that this incident of the Russian ship firing warning shots is unrelated to the previous actions by the British side. Former Royal Navy Colonel Foreman told The Guardian that yacht enthusiasts should be aware not to navigate near Russian warships, as Russian vessels often maintain a high level of vigilance, and there have been previous instances of them firing after issuing warnings. British media reported that since the beginning of this year, the "Admiral Grigorovich" frigate has been deployed multiple times in waters near the UK.