UK news

Wednesday, 17 Jun 2026, 3:20am

A Russian Navy ship is thought to have been involved in an incident.

In short:

The UK Ministry of Defence is looking into reports that a Russian warship fired warning shots at a yacht in the English Channel.

Russia says it fired at the yacht because it was on a dangerous path and they couldn't contact it by radio.

This happened just days after British commandos stopped a Russian vessel.

The UK Defence Ministry is investigating reports of a Russian Navy ship firing near a yacht.

The incident occurred about 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, outside UK waters, on Tuesday.

A UK-registered yacht says a Russian Navy vessel fired warning shots about 450 meters away.

No one was hurt and the yacht was not damaged.

Russia says it fired to stop the yacht from coming too close in the English Channel.

The yacht changed course after the Russian ship fired warning shots, following failed radio contact.

The Russian ministry says its actions followed international navigation rules.

The UK Ministry of Defence is looking into reports of an incident in the Channel.

The UK intercepted a Russian oil tanker to stop oil money from funding Russia's war in Ukraine.

This happened just days after UK commandos stopped a suspected Russian vessel.

The UK Defence Ministry said two British Navy ships were watching the Russian ship off the French coast.

Russian warships in the English Channel are often followed by the Royal Navy.

Officials do not think these two events are connected.

The UK military has had many close encounters with Russian vessels and warned Moscow in November.

In April, the UK and Norway tracked Russian submarines north of the UK for several weeks.

A Royal Navy ship and aircraft followed the Russian vessels to stop them from doing harmful activities.

The Defence Secretary accused Moscow of using the Iran war to increase bad activities against Europe.

The Russian embassy in London did not comment.

AP/Reuters

Wednesday, 17 Jun 2026, 3:20am

Wednesday, 17 Jun 2026, 3:41am

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