Royal Navy frigate HMS St. Albans tracked new Russian warship Admiral Gorshkov as it moved through the North Sea over Christmas.
LONDON (Reuters) – A British ship escorted a Russian vessel as it
passed near UK territorial waters over Christmas, Britain’s
defense ministry said on Tuesday, adding that Russian naval
activity near Britain had increased in the holiday period.
The frigate HMS St. Albans departed on Dec. 23 to track the new
Russian warship Admiral Gorshkov as it moved through the North
Sea.
The Royal Navy vessel monitored the Russian ship over Christmas
and will return to dock in Portsmouth later on Tuesday.
UK Defense Minister Gavin Williamson said in a statement after
the incident that he would “not hesitate in defending our waters
or tolerate any form of aggression.”
Relations between Britain and Russia are strained, and UK foreign
minister Boris Johnson said there was “abundant evidence” of
Moscow meddling in foreign elections during a trip to Russia last
week. His counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, said there was no proof for
Johnson’s claim.
While Johnson said he wants to normalize relations with Russia,
Moscow blames London for the poor state of relations between the
countries.
Britain’s defense ministry said another ship, HMS Tyne, was
called to escort a Russian intelligence-gathering ship through
the North Sea and the English Channel on Christmas Eve. A
helicopter was subsequently dispatched to monitor two other
Russian vessels.
The UK and other NATO countries in Europe have watched Russian naval activity
in the waters around the continent warily in recent years.
The head of the UK’s defense staff warned earlier this month that
Russian ships could be a threat to vulnerable undersea
telecommunications cables, which he said posed ” a new risk to our way of
life .” This summer, then-UK Defense
Minister Michael Fallon and his Russian counterpart exchanged barbs about the
quality of their countries’ respective aircraft carriers.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout, editing by Ed Osmond)
