Russians Say They Fired Warning Shots Near British Royal Navy Vessel, Britain Denies It

You know what would fix our struggling economy?

A World War with the Russians and/or Chinese.

It’s a foolproof plan.

The Guardian:

A Russian military ship has fired warning shots at a British Royal Navy vessel in the Black Sea and a Russian jet dropped bombs in its path, Interfax cited Russia’s defence ministry as saying on Wednesday.

The ministry said HMS Defender left what it called Russian waters soon afterwards, having ventured as much as 3km (2 miles) inside. The incident took place near Cape Fiolent, the ministry said, a landmark on the coast of Crimea.

Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 in a move condemned by the west, which still considers it Ukrainian territory.

The destroyer had been warned that weapons would be used if it trespasses the border of the Russian Federation. It did not react to the warning,” it said, adding that a Russian Su-24 bomber had dropped four high-explosive fragmentation bombs as a warning.

The British Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Incidents involving aircraft or ships are not uncommon at Russia’s borders, especially during heightened tensions with the west, but rarely result in open fire.

The United Kingdom is denying this.

BBC:

Britain has denied Russian reports that its military fired warning shots at a UK destroyer in the Black Sea.

Moscow’s defence ministry was quoted as saying that HMS Defender entered Russian territorial waters near Crimea while a patrol ship fired warning shots and a jet dropped bombs in its path.

But Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said no warning shots had been fired at HMS Defender.

It added that the ship was sailing in Ukrainian waters.

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement that HMS Defender was carrying out a “routine transit” and entered an internationally recognised traffic corridor.

“As is routine, Russian vessels shadowed her passage and she was made aware of training exercises in her wider vicinity,” he added.

 The MoD said the Russians were carrying out a gunnery exercise in the Black Sea and provided prior warning of their activity.

No shots were directed at HMS Defender and we do not recognise the claim that bombs were dropped in her path,” it added.

Hmmm.

Not sure why Russia would make this up, but okay.

I guess it’s because they’re evil – they just make things up to confuse people for no reason.

This is the HMS Defender: