Royal Navy escorts Russian warship passing through English Channel
Royal Navy ship escorts Russian warship and tanker passing through the English Channel close to the UK – watching their every move as they head to the North Sea
- HMS Portland deployed from Plymouth to track a Russian guided missile frigate
The Royal Navy has been escorting a Russian frigate and tanker through waters close to the UK, it announced today, warning Vladimir Putin’s forces that it is ‘watching their every move’.
HMS Portland deployed from Plymouth to track Russian Gorshkov-class guided missile frigate, Admiral Kasatonov, and support tanker, Akademik Pashin.
The British Type 23 frigate shadowed Putin’s forces through the English Channel on Sunday morning as they headed towards the North Sea.
The revelation came after what was Russia’s deadliest day on the battlefield in Ukraine on Saturday, with Putin’s forces losing more than 1,000 troops.
Amid Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Admiral Kasatonov of Russia’s Northern Fleet has been operating in the eastern Mediterranean since early 2022.
HMS Portland (pictured) deployed from Plymouth to track Russian Gorshkov-class guided missile frigate, Admiral Kasatonov, and support tanker, Akademik Pashin
Meanwhile, Akademik Pashin, a replenishment oiler, was in the region later in the year.
The Royal Navy said it had been watching every move made by Russia as they sailed north through the Bay of Biscay.
The Russians passed through the Strait of Gibraltar last Wednesday and NATO warships have been escorting them throughout their journey.
Portland with her specialist Merlin helicopter embarked – both equipped with cutting-edge sonars, sensors and torpedoes for specialist operations – are reporting on the movements of the Russian ships.
The ship’s Commanding Officer, Commander Ed Moss-Ward said: ‘The Royal Navy routinely responds to escort warships in our territorial waters and the adjacent sea areas to ensure compliance with maritime law and to deter malign activity.
‘Escorting the Russian task group alongside allied partners demonstrates the commitment of the Royal Navy and the NATO alliance to maintaining maritime security which is crucial to our national interests.’
It is just the latest instance of Russian warships coming close to the UK in recent months.
Back in January, another Russian frigate, Admiral Gorshkov, and its accompanying tanker Kama as they sailed in international waters close to the UK.
The Russian vessel was armed with new Mach 9 nuclear-capable Zircon missiles, which travel at speeds of nearly 7,000mph, as well as Kalibr missiles.
Amid Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Admiral Kasatonov of Russia’s Northern Fleet has been operating in the eastern Mediterranean since early 2022
Russian support tanker, Akademik Pashin. The Royal Navy has said it is ‘watching every move’ the Russian vessels make
HMS Portland deployed again to escort the boats, along with a Norwegian coastguard vessel, as they transited south through the Norwegian Sea.
A grim government assessment warned today that amid ramping up Russian aggression, threats to global security are set to only get worse.
The Integrated Review of the UK’s policy stance has concluded that the current ‘period of heightened risk and volatility’ is likely to last for decades.
The document cautions that the ‘fragmentation’ of the world order has happened faster than feared at the time of the last IR only two years ago.
It lays out the urgent need to prevent Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine succeeding, as well as restocking and upgrading UK military capacity – with Rishi Sunak allocating an extra £5billion of funding.
The report laid out that Russia is ‘the most acute threat to the UK’s security’ and collective security is now ‘intrinsically linked to the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine’.
Source: Read Full Article