A Russian Navy frigate fired warning shots near a UK-registered yacht in the English Channel on 16 June 2026, in an incident the UK Ministry of Defence said it is investigating. The vessel involved was the Admiral Grigorovich, operating approximately 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight — outside British territorial waters. No injuries or damage were reported, and the yacht continued its journey following a welfare visit from a vessel dispatched from HMS Tyne.
Russia's defence ministry said the Admiral Grigorovich attempted to contact the yacht after it was observed sailing on a 'dangerous course in close proximity with the warship'. The ministry said the ship's crew launched flares and issued sound signals when the yacht did not respond, and that after the distance closed to 150 metres the frigate's commander ordered warning shots fired across the vessel's bow using small arms, after which the yacht changed course and sailed away. A British official said the warning shots were fired roughly 500 yards from the yacht. A UK Ministry of Defence spokesperson described the shots as an attempt to prevent a possible collision rather than a hostile act. The BBC reported that the yacht, which has no motor, had drifted toward the Russian vessel in foggy conditions — an account that conflicts with Russia's defence ministry description of the yacht as proceeding under engine power.
Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Mersey was monitoring the Admiral Grigorovich at the time of the incident. The British military said it had previously monitored the Admiral Grigorovich throughout April as the Russian ship escorted six Russia-linked civilian vessels near the UK.
The incident occurred two days after British commandos boarded the sanctioned oil tanker Smyrtos, described as belonging to Russia's shadow fleet, in what was characterised as the first such UK-led boarding operation off the southern English coast. The UK has sanctioned almost 600 shadow fleet vessels to date, the Defence Ministry said, adding that Russia's oil revenues are down 27% from October 2024 levels [Source: NBC News].
The episode adds to a pattern of heightened Russian naval activity near the UK. In November, the British military warned Moscow it was ready to respond to any incursion into its territory after the spy ship Yantar was detected on the edge of UK waters north of Scotland. In April, Britain and Norway said they had tracked a Russian attack submarine and two spy submarines operating north of the UK for several weeks. Five years prior, Russia said one of its warships fired warning shots and a warplane dropped bombs in the Black Sea to force the British destroyer HMS Defender from an area near Crimea that Moscow claimed as its territorial waters.
Sources: Bloomberg, BBC News, ITV News, Associated Press, CBC News, PBS NewsHour, ABC News, NBC News, Euronews