The Royal Navy spent two days last week chasing a Russian tanker and a Russian navy corvette up the English Channel. The Royal Navy dispatched offshore patrol vessels HMS Mersey (P283) and HMS Severn (P282), along with a Wildcat helicopter, to intercept corvette RFS Boikiy and Russian flagged oil tanker MT General Skobelev, reported US Naval Institute News. Severn continued to keep watch on the Russians as they sailed to the North Sea before handing over responsibility of the group to an unnamed NATO ally–the Dutch later said they took over monitoring of the Russian ships–as the Russian ships continued their journey north.
“With this operation, our sailors have once again sent a message to Putin—we know exactly what his navy is doing. Every time a Russian ship comes near the U.K., the Navy is ready to track, deter and defend,” Minister for the Armed Forces Al Carns arrogantly declared in the news release.
