The incident, which reportedly occurred at round 11:40 BST, occurred as a civilian yacht sailed close to the warship Admiral Grigorovich, working in worldwide waters roughly 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight.
Coming simply days after the UK carried out its first boarding of a vessel alleged to belong to Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’, the Admiral Grigorovich is suspected to have been tasked by the Russian Navy to escort these ships as they go near NATO international locations on their routes. Although but to immediately intervene in a boarding try, the frigate’s presence would undoubtedly present a degree of deterrence in opposition to plans to grab Russian-linked cargo ships.
BBC Information understands that, though the 2 incident are shut in timing, the UK Authorities at current doesn’t view this new occasion as associated to the boarding of the Smyrtos on Jun. 14, 2026.
BREAKING: A Russian warship has been accused of firing warning pictures in the direction of a UK-registered yacht that sailed close by within the English Channel on Tuesday
The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed it was “investigating studies of an incident within the Channel”.
The yacht alleged that the…
— Lucy Fisher (@LOS_Fisher) June 16, 2026
The warning shot is claimed to have come following an ‘audible warning’ from the frigate to the civilian yacht, which Russia claims was the 40 foot crusing vessel Brilliant Future. An official assertion says the warning pictures, in addition to flares and audio warnings, solely got here after the civilian vessel failed to vary course in response to radio calls on internationally recognised VHF frequencies.
Russian Protection Ministry confirmed that the crew of the “Admiral Grigorovich” frigate fired warning pictures on the UK-owned “Brilliant Future” yacht within the British Channel waters on Tuesday.
The Russians claimed that the frigate’s commander determined to open preemptive hearth with small… pic.twitter.com/mV8vra0hCN
— Standing-6 (Conflict & Navy Information) (@Archer83Able) June 16, 2026
Preliminary studies from the yacht’s occupants acknowledged the incident came about round 500 yards from the Russian warship, though the official Russian assertion offers a distance of 150 metres, or 164 yards. The assertion additionally says that the yacht was utilizing its engines on the time, moderately than its sails, which – if correct – means the crew would have larger management over the boat’s pace and course. There are unconfirmed studies, by way of Sky Information, that the frigate itself was experiencing technical points and had restricted maneuverability.
Royal Navy patrol vessels HMS Mersey and HMS Tyne had been already monitoring the Admiral Grigorovich as a part of their routine operations round British waters. The patrol ships are stated to have witnessed the incident, with Tyne subsequently dispatching a ship to the Brilliant Future to make sure the occupants had been secure and prone to word down their interpretation of occasions. No accidents or injury aboard the yacht had been reported, with the warning pictures stated to have been aimed – as is process in most armed forces – nicely away from the vessel.
The UK Ministry of Defence has up to now made solely restricted remarks because it continues to analyze the incident.
The Admiral Grigorovich
A Challenge 11356R frigate, the lead ship of its class, the Admiral Grigorovich was commissioned into the Russian Navy in March 2016. The 4000 ton vessels are nominally assigned to the Black Sea fleet, though the Admiral Grigorovich has not returned to the Black Sea because the begin of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In consequence, the ship has been an everyday sight shadowing NATO vessels within the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
The ships are nicely armed for his or her dimension, boasting a 100 mm AK-190 essential gun, 24 vertical launch system (VLS) cells for air defence missiles, 8 VLS cells for cruise missiles, two AK-630 close-in weapon techniques (CIWS), and the distinctive RBU-6000 Smerch-2 anti-submarine rocker launcher.
Alongside Russia, India operates two ships of this class. These had been initially meant for Russian use, however from 2014 onwards Ukraine would not provide the gasoline generators meant to energy them. Although Russian-built alternate options had been evaluated, two of the three incomplete ships had been ultimately bought to India. India had been in a position to purchase the Ukrainian gasoline generators, then these had been supplied to the Russian shipyard and put in on the ships.
