Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has described the firing of warning shots by a Russian warship in the English Channel as “deeply concerning and reckless”. Speaking from the G7 summit in France, he said the incident, which occurred on Tuesday morning, involved a Russian frigate drifting and firing shots within a few hundred metres of a British pleasure yacht.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the Russian vessel, the Admiral Grigorovich, fired warning shots after the yacht, named Bright Future, sailed close to it and ignored at least one communication. The shots were not aimed at the yacht but were intended to prevent a possible collision, the MoD said. The incident took place more than 20 miles south of the Isle of Wight and less than 40 miles north of Normandy.
Starmer told the BBC that the yacht's occupants must have been terrified, adding, “It shouldn't have happened.” He also addressed a separate arson attack on his home, for which two men with links to Russia were found guilty. He stressed the need to keep the two incidents distinct but acknowledged the broader threat from Russian aggression.
The Prime Minister warned that the UK faces proxy attacks from Russia “every single day”, citing the Ukraine conflict and Iranian involvement. At the G7, he pledged further sanctions to “choke off” Russian revenue and announced hundreds of millions of pounds in energy support for Ukraine. He also expressed commitment to reopening the Strait of Hormuz following a US-Iran ceasefire.
