LONDON (AP) 鈥� UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday accused the crew of a Russian warship of acting recklessly when they in the English Channel, though he downplayed the seriousness of the incident.
The owners of the 40-foot (12-meter) sailboat Bright Future say the shots were fired Tuesday morning when they encountered a Russian warship while crossing the English Channel to Cherbourg in France. Russia says the crew of the frigate Admiral Grigorovich fired shots into the air after the sailboat failed to respond to warnings to change course.
No one was injured but the incident underscored heightened tensions between the U.K. and Russia.
Speaking at the G7 summit in France, Starmer said the incident was 鈥渄eeply concerning,鈥� even though British defense officials have concluded the shots weren鈥檛 鈥渁nything more sinister鈥� than an effort to avoid a collision.
鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 take away from the fact that clearly Russia is aggressive across Europe,鈥� Starmer said.
The incident occurred two days after , which Western powers say is used to skirt sanctions on Russian oil exports imposed after the Britain has also accused Russia of mounting a and misinformation designed to destabilize European nations that support Ukraine.
The British couple aboard the Bright Future, Jane Kelvey, 68, and her husband Alan, 70, reported that the shots were fired about 20 nautical miles (23 miles, 37 kilometers) south of the Isle of Wight, outside U.K. territorial waters.
鈥淚t was a bit scary,鈥� Jane Kelvey told the i Paper. 鈥淚 crouched down. I didn鈥檛 think our safety was in danger. But it was certainly unusual. As we sailed away, we said to each other, what the hell just happened?鈥�
Russia鈥檚 Defense Ministry said the crew of the frigate tried to contact the yacht when it was seen sailing on a 鈥渄angerous course in close proximity with the warship.鈥� It said the ship鈥檚 crew launched flares and issued sound signals when the yacht did not respond.
鈥淎fter the distance had closed to 150 meters (500 feet), the frigate鈥檚 commander decided to fire warning shots across the vessel鈥檚 bow using small arms,鈥� the ministry said. It said the yacht then changed course and sailed away.
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