Russian warship sailing between England and France fired warning shots at a British civilian yacht

A Russian warship fired warning shots at a British civilian yacht in the English Channel after radio and signal attempts failed to elicit a response. The frigate Admiral Grigorovich, part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, closed to 150 meters and then opened fire with small arms against the Bright Future, a UK-registered sailing yacht carrying a retired British couple. The couple reported five horn blasts before the ship altered course. The incident follows the UK’s seizure of the tanker MV Smyrtos, linked to Russia’s shadow fleet, and underscores a pattern of Russian naval activity in the area. The Admiral Grigorovich, commissioned in 2016, is 409 feet long and armed with eight vertical launch cells for missiles and a 100mm gun.