Kathrine Frich
The explanation from Moscow has done little to calm the anger in London.
When a military confrontation happens at sea, the first reports usually come from one side.
The initial story fills the news, shaping how the world sees a dangerous moment. But international incidents always have two sides, and now the other power is firing back with its own version of events.
Moscow speaks out
The Russian government has finally broken its silence after a tense confrontation on the water.
On Tuesday, a Russian frigate reportedly fired warning shots toward a British civilian yacht in the English Channel.
The incident near the Isle of Wight caused immediate political outrage in the United Kingdom. British officials quickly labeled the warship a bully.
But the Russian Defense Ministry claims the story on the news is completely wrong. Officials say the crew on the Admiral Grigorovich acted strictly to protect their ship from a dangerous collision.
A dangerous path
According to Moscow cited by Express, the British-flagged yacht, named Bright Future, was heading directly toward the warship. The frigate tried repeatedly to warn the civilian boat over international radio channels.
The yacht did not change its course or answer the calls. That is when the military crew resorted to loud sound signals and bright flares, but the boat kept coming.
“After closing the distance to 150 meters, the frigate’s commander decided to fire preemptively at the vessel’s course with small arms,” the Russian ministry stated in a public release. The yacht then turned away.
Rising political heat
The explanation from Moscow has done little to calm the anger in London. British politicians argue the shooting was a deliberate act of retaliation.
Just days earlier, Royal Marines seized a Russian oil tanker in the exact same waters. Former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind told the Daily Express that the timing is highly suspicious.
“I suspect it is a deliberate Russian response to the British boarding of the ‘Russian’ tanker. It could not be just a coincidence,” Rifkind noted. Still, Russian officials maintain their crew followed all international shipping rules to prevent a crash.
Sources: Daily Express
