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Russia said on Wednesday that its forces had fired warning shots at a British destroyer off the Crimean coast, but the UK has denied the claims.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has said that HMS Defender made a 3 km investment in the Black Sea waters that Russia claims to have near the peninsula that it annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The UK Ministry of Defense has denied being shot directly at the ship.
Ben Wallace, the UK’s secretary of defense, said HMS Defender made the “usual passage” on Wednesday morning from Odessa to Georgia, crossing the Black Sea.
“As is normal for this route, [the destroyer] entered a corridor to separate internationally recognized traffic. He exited this corridor safely at 0945 BST. As usual, the Russian ships had his passage in the shade and were aware of training exercises in wider areas, ”Wallace said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that after HMS Defender did not respond to a threat from Russian forces to open fire, a Coast Guard vessel fired warning shots at it.
Minutes later, the Russian Black Sea Fleet detonated a Su-24M attack aircraft, dropping four high-explosive bombs on the ship’s path before leaving the waterway, according to the ministry.
The disputed claims have led to greater tensions between Russia and the NATO alliance. Most countries do not allow Russia to control Crimea and surrounding waters.
NATO countries have sent several warships on visits to the area in recent years to help Ukraine, sparking criticism from Moscow.
In 2018, Russia hijacked three Ukrainian naval vessels in an attempt to cross the peninsula into Kyiv-controlled territory via the Kerch Strait.
HMS Defender, part of the deployment of strike groups of UK carriers, is in the Black Sea this week as part of an exercise to strengthen the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
The head of the Royal Army met with Ukraine’s deputy defense minister on Tuesday in the destroyer Odessan to sign an agreement with Britain that will help strengthen Ukraine’s maritime capability.
The partnership will include the training of Ukrainian naval personnel, the creation of new naval bases and the purchase of two Sandown-class mine hunters.
Ukrainian special forces were conducting exercises with HMS Defender in the U.S. and UK counterparts to practice “unexpected hijacking of enemy ships,” the Kyiv Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter in response to Moscow’s demands that “Russia’s aggressive and provocative actions in the Black and Azov Seas, its occupation and the militarization of Crimea pose a permanent threat to Ukraine and its allies.”
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