A Russian warship, shadowed by a Royal Navy vessel, carried out a live-fire artillery exercise just 46 miles (74km) south of Plymouth on Monday. The Russian warship firing exercise prompted close monitoring from UK defence officials and sharp criticism from the government.
The Royal Navy tracked the exercise closely, according to a Ministry of Defence spokesperson. The BBC has been told that, before opening fire, Russian frigate Neustrashimy, meaning Dauntless in English, informed the Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel HMS Tyne of its intention to conduct gunnery activity.
UK Calls the Exercise “Performative and Irresponsible”
Newly appointed Defence Secretary Wes Streeting called the exercise “performative and irresponsible.” The Kremlin, meanwhile, signalled there was no connection between the exercise and Andy Burnham taking office as prime minister.
“All [military] exercises and all actions undertaken by our warships are carried out in strict compliance with international and maritime law,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told BBC News. “Therefore, there is no need to see any signals in this,” he said.
Peskov, however, pointed to Burnham’s own early signals to Russia, noting that one of the new prime minister’s first acts in office was declaring unconditional support for Ukraine and confirming the UK’s intention to keep doing everything possible to continue the war effort. Streeting responded by saying Russia “should be in no doubt about the resolve” of the new government and prime minister. UK defence sources declined to comment on whether the timing of the incident was connected to the start of Burnham’s premiership.
What Happened During the Exercise
The live-fire exercise took place in international waters and lasted 30 minutes. The Russian warship requested that HMS Tyne reposition to a safer distance, which the Royal Navy vessel did. A French military aircraft also monitored the Russian frigate and made radio contact with the warship, asking it to clarify its intentions, the BBC has been told.
BBC Verify analysed flight and ship-tracking data showing the positions of HMS Tyne and several British military aircraft operating in and around the Channel near Plymouth on Monday. Flight data on ADS-B Exchange indicates at least four Royal Air Force and Royal Navy aircraft, including two Eurofighter Typhoons, a Voyager air refuelling tanker and a Super Lynx helicopter, were flying off the coast of Dorset, mostly above UK territorial waters. A French military H160M Guépard helicopter also flew out over the Channel during the afternoon, though it remains unclear whether this was the aircraft that made contact with the Russian warship.
Ship-tracking service MarineTraffic showed HMS Tyne began broadcasting its location about 40 miles off Plymouth at 13:57 BST on Monday. It remained in that location for around two hours before departing at 15:56 to return to Plymouth. HMS Tyne has been tracking Neustrashimy since at least July 16, when satellite imagery captured both vessels in the North Sea, roughly 36 miles from the port of Felixstowe in Suffolk.
Part of a Wider Pattern of Russian Naval Activity
The incident serves as a reminder for the new prime minister of increased Russian naval activity near UK waters in recent months. Last month, Royal Marine Commandos boarded a Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker in the English Channel during a six-hour operation, the first of its kind carried out by UK armed forces.
Also in June, a British couple sailing in international waters in the English Channel encountered a Russian warship, the Admiral Grigorovich, roughly 23 miles off the Isle of Wight. The frigate fired warning shots as Jane and Alan Kelvey sailed their yacht, in what Russia’s defence ministry described as a “dangerous approach.” The couple, however, said they had not been on a collision course. Russian warships regularly pass through international waters in the Channel, which remain separate from UK and French territorial waters.
Expert: “It Is Entirely Allowable but in My Mind It Is a Signal”
Tom Sharpe, a retired Royal Navy commander, told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme that conducting a gunnery exercise so close to the south coast was very unusual. “It is entirely allowable but in my mind it is a signal,” he said.
Aside from the warning issued to HMS Tyne, Sharpe said the Russian vessel put no other safety measures in place before firing its 100mm cannon. He noted that a weapon of that calibre can ricochet for miles, potentially travelling more than ten miles beyond its intended landing point, in what he described as the busiest shipping lane in the world.
Asked how the UK should respond, Sharpe suggested the exercise may have been Russia’s answer to the UK’s own recent actions in the Channel, including the boarding of the MV Smyrtos, one of Russia’s so-called dark fleet ships, which remains at anchor off the south coast. He described the pattern as a tit-for-tat dynamic reminiscent of Cold War-era normality, adding that such incidents are increasingly happening closer to the UK.
