What we know about Russian warship that fired warning shots in English Channel

A Russian warship fired warning shots at a UK-registered yacht in the English Channel in an incident that has intensified national security concerns.

The shots were fired on Tuesday about 20 nautical miles (30km) south of the Isle of Wight, outside the UK's territorial waters.

So what actually happened?

'Warning shots fired'

The incident, involving the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich and a UK-registered civilian yacht, unfolded at about 11.40am, between the Isle of Wight and Normandy.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed it was "investigating" the reports of an incident in the English Channel shortly before 4pm.

It later emerged the Russian warship had fired warning shots near to the yacht and sounded signals to deter it from sailing too close.

The crew of the yacht said the warning shots were fired from a distance of about 500 yards (457m).

There were no injuries and the yacht was not damaged in the course of the incident.

An MoD spokesperson said the shots were "not aimed at the vessel and were an attempt to prevent a possible collision".

It's understood the Admiral Grigorovich was trying to show other vessels in the area that it was drifting, rather than being manoeuvred under power, possibly due to engine troubles.

The Royal Navy's HMS Mersey was monitoring the Russian ship at the time of the incident, the MoD said.

'Gunshots were not aimed at us'

The retired British couple on board the 40ft yacht, Bright Future, told Sky News they believed the frigate had failed to follow proper procedures before warning shots were fired.

Jane and Alan Kelvey said they were sailing "an obvious course" between Lymington and Cherbourg when they saw the vessel.

In an interview with home news correspondent Mollie Malone, Jane said: "We were sailing happily along an obvious course. We were not that close.

"We were just going to happily sail past. They say they were adrift. We did not know that.

"It didn't radio us. Didn't send up any flares. Simply did five blasts on the horn which means, 'have you seen us?'

"We changed our course. That would make them realise we had seen them."

She added that despite there being "no danger" of a collision, there was a further "five blasts" on the horn a few minutes later before "four to five gunshots" which were "not aimed at us".

"They obviously thought we got too close," she said. "They would have been able to see us for at least an hour."

What do we know about the Admiral Grigorovich?

The Russian vessel is a 125-metre-long RFN warship based at Sevastopol, a major port city in Russian-occupied Crimea.

The Black Sea fleet frigate has an A-190 Arsenal naval gun and a hangar and helipad for a military helicopter.

The frigate also has eight vertical launch cells for cruise missiles, which can be used against ships or ground targets.

How has Russia responded?

Russia's Ministry of Defence said the frigate's crew attempted to contact the yacht by radio and fired signal flares after the civilian vessel started "following a dangerous course under engines to approach the ship".

After these measures failed to change the yacht's course, the frigate's crew decided to fire warning shots.

"After closing the distance to 150 metres, the frigate's commander decided to fire pre-emptively at the vessel's course with small arms," the ministry said.

"The British-flagged yacht then immediately changed course and continued moving away from the Russian warship.

"The crew of the frigate Admiral Grigorovich acted in strict accordance with international shipping regulations and took all necessary measures to prevent the incident."

'Russia poses most direct and pressing threat'

House of Commons Defence Committee chair Tan Dhesi said that while the UK faces a "range of serious challenges, Russia poses the most direct and pressing threat".

"Evidently, we need to move much faster, including by increasing defence spending," he said.

"Our defence committee has already called on the government to commit to spending 3% of GDP by the end of this parliament. If the UK is to rearm at pace, additional spending will be necessary."

He added that the resignation of John Healey as defence secretary had "slowed us down at a time when we need to invest in defence, and do so at speed".

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Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said the incident shows that "Russia poses a direct threat to our nation".

Liberal Democrat defence spokesman James MacClearly said: "Russia is quite literally on our doorstep. Aggression and intimidation in our waters must not be tolerated."

'Warning shots an independent incident'

The incident in the English Channel should be viewed as an independent incident not linked to the seizure of a Russian tanker by the UK, the MoD said.

Royal Marine commandos and officers from the National Crime Agency boarded the Russian shadow fleet tanker Smyrtos, which was carrying 98,000 tonnes of oil, on Sunday.

The captain of the tanker, Indian national Ajay Pant, appeared in court on Tuesday charged with breaching sanctions.

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