British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says a Russian warship acted “recklessly” by firing warning shots near a yacht carrying pensioners in the English Channel, south of the Isle of Wight, on Tuesday. Speaking afterwards, Starmer describes the incident as something that “shouldn’t have happened,” while stating the UK’s assessment is that the vessel was drifting rather than indicating a more deliberate threat. Several outlets report that Starmer’s remarks include the view that the actions were reckless, but not necessarily sinister.
France 24 reports the UK Ministry of Defence characterises the event as an “isolated incident” and says there is no suspected link to the weekend boarding by British commandos of an oil tanker suspected of belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet.”
Al Jazeera adds that Russia says the shots were fired to divert the yacht outside the UK’s territorial waters. Across the coverage, the accounts centre on Starmer’s characterization and differing explanations for why the warning shots were fired, alongside the UK government’s stance that it is not connected to other recent maritime operations.
