The Russian navy has positioned a warship 30 miles off the British coast to oversee the passage of numerous sanctioned tankers through the Channel, right under the surveillance of the Royal Navy. A second naval vessel, a supply ship, is supporting the Russian warship, equipped with cruise and surface-to-air missiles, allowing it to maintain its location near the UK shoreline.
This warship has successfully accompanied multiple sanctioned Russian tankers through the Channel, leading to allegations of supporting Vladimir Putin’s activities in Ukraine. The two vessels are operating together, with the supply ship replenishing the Russian frigate, enabling it to hover around the Galloper wind farm off the Suffolk coast, as reported by i News.
The Admiral Grigorovich has escorted more than a dozen “shadow fleet” tankers through the English Channel, as revealed by data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence. The Russian ships have occasionally ventured into UK waters, possibly as a move by Putin to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer, raising concerns of a potential military escalation.
Elisabeth Braw, a naval expert at the Atlantic Council, has warned about the risky refuelling operations between the two vessels, citing the possibility of an ecological disaster in British waters. The presence of armed escorts with sanctioned oil tankers is seen as a message from Russia, indicating that enforcing sanctions post its invasion of Ukraine could lead to more than just legal repercussions, potentially escalating into armed conflict.
The proximity of the Russian vessel to critical UK infrastructure like offshore wind farms has triggered concerns among NATO allies. A NATO monitoring initiative has been initiated, with the Dutch Royal Navy’s DSS Galatea vessel tracking the ship’s movements through the North Sea and monitoring its position.
