BBC journalist on British ship HMS Defender says vessel made ‘deliberate’ move in passing through Russian waters 'to make a point'
The state broadcaster’s defense correspondent, Jonathan Beale, also noted that the ship’s crew heard shots, but they were believed to be “out of range.”
In an audio report, Beale revealed that the ship purposely moved into the waters near Crimea, within 12 miles (19km) of the coast, through what the British called a “recognised international shipping lane.” The transit through Russian waters took over an hour, the correspondent said.
“[The Russian Coast Guard] have warned the ship not to go into Crimean territorial waters, claiming that they are Russian waters,” Beale said, noting that Britain does not recognise the peninsula as Russian, but Ukrainian.
“This would be a deliberate move to make a point to Russia,” Beale said.
According to the journalist, “increasingly hostile warnings were issued over the radio” by the coast guard, including one that said, “If you don't change course, I'll fire.”
As the HMS Defender left Russian waters, it was followed by two coast guard ships and around 20 planes, Beale said.
Earlier in the day, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that the country’s navy fired warning shots at the at the British naval ship as it ignored warnings from the coast guard
Is This Why Russia Shot At HMS Defender?
Russian claims that it fired on HMS Defender which is in the Back Sea on a NATO mission come just two days after the UK signed an agreement to boost Ukraine’s naval capabilities onboard the warship.
BRITAIN and Ukraine inked a naval cooperation agreement on June 21 onboard the HMS Defender. The deal will include the development of a new naval base in the Sea of Avoz and eight hi-tech naval warships for Ukraine. . .
The deal is likely to have angered Moscow as it includes the following projects:
- Missile sale and integration on new and in-service Ukrainian Navy patrol and airborne platforms, including a training and engineering support package.
- The development and joint production of eight fast missile warships.
- The creation of a new naval base on the Black Sea as the primary fleet base for Ukraine and a new base on the Sea of Azov.
During the visit by Ministers a trilateral exercise between the UK, Ukraine and the US took place on board the ship.
Today, June 23, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed it had shot at HMS Defender because it had breached Russia’s territorial water.
The UK however swiftly denied an incident had taken place and said Russia was conducting regular exercises and did not fire at the warship
"According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, the British naval ship entered the country's territorial waters at 11:52am local time and traveled 3km inside the frontier, near Cape Fiolent, in Crimea. The peninsula is not recognized by the United Kingdom as Russian land and London believes it to be illegally occupied Ukrainian territory.
“At 12:06 and 12:08, a border patrol ship fired warning shots,” the Defense Ministry said. “(And) at 12:19, a Su-24m aircraft performed a warning bombing (4 OFAB-250) ahead of the course of the USS Defender.”
Four minutes later, at 12:23, the destroyer left Russian territory.
Also on rt.com: Russia demands US scrap ‘aggressive’ Black Sea naval war-games, warning drills fuel tensions & increase risk of deadly incidents
Shortly before the Defense Ministry publicised the incident, Russia’s top army chief Valery Gerasimov told a Moscow security conference that NATO naval activity near the Russia’s borders had "significantly increased".
"Ships equipped with high-precision long-range missile weapons operate almost on a permanent basis in the Black and Baltic Seas,” he said, calling the actions “clearly provocative."
Russian Senator Sergei Tsekov, in comments to RIA Novosti, decried the warship’s movements as a “flagrant violation of international norms,” noting that the actions could “provoke a serious conflict.”
The HMS Defender is an air-defence destroyer, launched in 2009. Designed primarily for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare, it is currently conducting missions in the Black Sea. Before the recent incident, the ship was docked in the Ukrainian port of Odessa, where it played host to a signing ceremony, attended by British Minister for Defence Procurement Jeremy Quin and Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Alexander Mironyuk.
London and Kiev agreed a deal for the UK to supply warships to Ukraine, and with the British also pledging to help the country construct Black Sea naval bases.
Following the incident, Britain's Ministry of Defence denied that any warning shots were fired at the HMS Defender, claiming that the vessel is conducting “innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters in accordance with international law,” and the Russian shots were part of a pre-planned gunnery exercise.
“No shots were directed at HMS Defender and we do not recognise the claim that bombs were dropped in her path,” the statement said."
Sea Law Convention — statement
Russian warship fires shots at Royal Navy destroyer HMS ...
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1 From the BBC British Broadcasting
Russian jets and ships shadow British warship
HMS Defender was sailing from Odessa in southern Ukraine to Georgia. To get there, it passed south of the Crimea peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in a move that has not been recognised internationally.
While Moscow claims the peninsula and its waters are Russian territory, the UK says HMS Defender was passing through Ukrainian waters in a commonly used and internationally recognised transit route.
BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale was on the deck of HMS Defender in the Black Sea as it was harassed by Russia's military.
- Published
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