Confirmation that the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Defender’s sailing into waters claimed by Russia near Crimea was a deliberate provocation, came yesterday from none other than the BBC, which had one of its own reporters on the ship. The reporter, Jonathan Beale, confirmed that the Russians did issue radio warnings to the crew, that the crew was prepared for a possible confrontation, that gunfire was indeed heard, that some 20 Russian aircraft passed by overhead and that two Russian coast guard vessels came within 100 meters of the British ship. “This is at odds with statements from both the British prime minister’s office and defence ministry, which denied any confrontation,” the BBC reported.
“While Moscow claims the peninsula and its waters are Russian territory, the UK says HMS Defender was passing through Ukrainian waters in a commonly used and internationally recognised transit route,” the BBC reported further. “A source told BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale that the Defender was not there to pick a fight but to make a point — to assert its right to freedom of navigation in international waters.”
