A Russian warship is believed to have fired a warning shot at a British yacht in the English Channel – a potentially huge escalation in Putin’s aggression towards the UK.

The Ministry of Defence is investigating the claim by the yacht’s crew.

If true, the move had huge potential consequences if any Brits had been harmed or killed. 

The incident, at around 11.40am on Tuesday, is understood to have involved the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich in the sea between the Isle of Wight and Normandy.

The shots were fired at a distance of approximately 500 yards (457 metres), the UK-registered yachts’ crew alleged.

Sky News, citing a defence source, reported that the Admiral Grigorovich may have been suffering from engine problems. 

The broadcaster reported that the warship sounded an alert to the yacht to avoid a collision, but when it did not change course, the Russian ship fired a couple of warning shots. 

The Grigorovich, one of Vladimir Putin’s Black Sea fleet ships, had been operating near British waters for some weeks.

It has been observed escorting shadow oil tankers and loitering near a wind farm off the Suffolk coast.

Two Royal Navy River-class offshore patrol vessels, HMS Mersey and HMS Tyne, had followed the ship through the Channel on Monday afternoon before the incident unfolded on Tuesday.

It is understood that the incident took place around 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, outside of UK territorial waters.

It comes as G7 leaders, including Sir Keir, meet in Évian-les-Bains, France, for talks including the war in Ukraine. 

Pictured: RFN Admiral Grigorovich (foreground) monitored by RFA Tideforce

Pictured: HMS Mersey (foreground) as it monitors the RFN Admiral Grigorovich (background left)

It is the second incident involving a Russian vessel in the Channel in 72 hours. On Sunday, Sir Keir Starmer ordered Royal Marines to board the Cameroonian-flagged shadow tanker Smyrtos. Pictured: Helicopters intercepting the Smyrtos

No injuries or damage were reported and the yacht is continuing its journey through the Channel. 

A seaboat from HMS Tyne has visited the yacht to gather details and check that its occupants are safe.

The Admiral Grigorovich is a 4,000-ton guided-missile frigate and the lead ship of its class in the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet.

The warship serves as a highly capable multi-role platform designed for anti-surface, anti-submarine, and air defence operations.

Military sources said the incident was not connected to the UK’s decision to seize a Russian shadow tanker in the Channel on Sunday.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: ‘We are investigating reports of an incident in the Channel.’

It is the second incident involving a Russian vessel in the Channel in 72 hours.  

On Sunday, Sir Keir Starmer ordered Royal Marines and officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) to board the Cameroonian-flagged shadow tanker Smyrtos, whose captain was later arrested and charged with breaching Russian sanctions.

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) meets with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sideline of the G7 summit, in Evian, eastern France, on June 16

Ajay Pant, 38, is accused of directly or indirectly supplying or delivering prohibited Russian oil products to a third country during June 2026, in breach of Regulation 46Z9B of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

He appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. According to part nine of the 2019 regulations, someone who commits a trade offence such as the one Pant is accused of could face up to ten years in prison, a fine or both. 

Pant was not asked to enter a plea when he appeared before Southampton Magistrates’ Court today via video link from a police station in Bournemouth.

He spoke to confirm his name and date of birth and gave his address as being in India.

But James Diamond, defending, said: ‘The defendant is very clear on his actions that it was not his choice as to where this vessel was going or the cargo this vessel was carrying.

‘He was simply following orders from those in the corporation. He is simply an employee doing his job who finds himself put before a British court.’

The court heard that the oil tanker was part of Russia’s ‘clandestine fleet of 700 ships’ which acted as its ‘lifeline’ by transporting 75% of its oil and helping fund the war against Ukraine. 

District Judge David Robinson, who appeared on the videolink from Portsmouth, sent the case for a plea and trial preparation hearing at Bournemouth Crown Court on July 16 and remanded Pant in custody until then. 

Varun Chuni, prosecuting, told the magistrates’ court hearing: ‘On the morning of June 14, Royal Marines and the National Crime Agency boarded the oil tanker MV Smyrtos, that vessel had entered UK territorial waters without a legitimate flag.

The striking footage of the Smyrtos’s boarding was taken around dawn amid calm weather in the Channel on Sunday 

The Ministry of Defence said Royal Marines commandos and National Crime Agency officers were involved in the operation

‘The MV Smyrtos is an oil tanker that is utilised by the Russian shadow fleet, the shadow fleet is a description given to the clandestine fleet of tankers that Russia used to transport its oil around the world.

‘They operate under a flag of convenience, the genuine owners of those tankers are very difficult to trace.

‘In order to deceive law enforcement, they turn off tracking transponders and they regularly change flags and broadcast false locations.’

He said that the Smyrtos was designated under UK sanctions on Russia in 2025 which ‘were introduced to place pressure on Russia and its economy’.

He said: ‘It’s known it was in Russia on June 5 2026 and departed Russian territorial waters.

‘Its movements were monitored, it then entered UK territorial waters, east of Margate, on June 13, flying the flag of Cameroon.

‘The master of that vessel has been identified as the defendant. He is an Indian national and he was arrested on the evening of June 14 and is currently in custody.

‘He’s suspected to be master of that vessel, essentially in charge of it.

‘The amount of oil being carried is substantial, it is thought to be 98,000 tonnes of oil, clearly that is a significant amount. As to its value, it’s uncontroversial to say it’s of very significant value.’

The vessel is believed to be held in Portland.

The NCA said yesterday that the 24 Georgian and Indian crew remained onboard and were ‘assisting the investigation’.

The daring six-hour raid, ordered by Sir Keir Starmer, was praised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as ‘an important step against Russia’s oil fleet’.

The Smyrtos had been at sea for nine days after leaving the port of Ust Luga near St Petersburg on June 5 laden with crude. 

And early on Sunday morning, an RAF Poseidon P-8 was cleared for take-off from RAF Lossiemouth, in Scotland, towards the Channel.

Already on station were the Royal Navy’s HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury acting as a ‘surface screen’ around the 801ft-long tanker.

Heavily-armed personnel were seen taking control and checking through paperwork on the bridge of the Smyrtos

The MoD said the CMR Smyrtos was sailing under a false Cameroonian flag

Chinook, Wildcat and Merlin helicopters carrying Special Boat Service (SBS) and 42 Commando troops took off from an undisclosed location in the South West where final rehearsals for the raid had taken place.

The Daily Mail understands the SBS, equipped with Canadian C8 assault rifles and night vision goggles were the first to approach the Smyrtos, their Chinook hovering in the darkness over the tanker’s 138ft-wide hull.

After fast-roping on to the ship, their role was to secure it. Moving tactically and with their rifles pulled tight into their shoulders, the troops raced to the bridge to neutralise any threat posed by her captain and crew.

They were followed by Royal Marines from 42 Commando whose responsibilities included searching the ship and protecting the NCA officers who do not carry weapons.

Despite the proximity in time of these incidents, a defence expert warned that people should be ‘careful’ not to link them.  

Martin Kelly, head of advisory at crisis management firm EOS risk, said ‘let’s be careful’ not to link the two incidents.

Kelly said: ‘Warships, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, are entitled to self-defence.

‘If a ship, yacht, etc is approaching, the rules of force escalation will start with a VHF [very high frequency radio] warning, and if there is no response the next escalation is a more intense warning, and then up to warning shots, which is where we got to here.’

He added: ‘This kind of thing does happen everywhere all of the time, I honestly don’t think there’s a link here.

‘If Russia was going to respond then they would do against probably a commercial ship.’

But these worrying incidents incidents came as leaders of the G7 gathered today to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine and Donald Trump’s tentative deal to end the conflict with Iran.  

The first full day of the G7 summit of leading industrialised nations is being held in the French town of Evian-les-Bains.

Shortly before his arrival, Trump announced an agreement to end the 3 1/2-month-old U.S. war against Iran.

‘Now that this [Iran] is finished, we’re going to be focusing on that,’ Trump said, referring to efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Zelensky, whose nation was a guest at the meeting in France, showed Trump some photos of the damage at the Dormition Cathedral, a revered religious landmark in Kyiv that was set ablaze in a Russian bombing.

Three officials with knowledge of the matter spoke anonymously, because they were not allowed to disclose details about leaders’ talks at the G7 meeting.

Without confirming Zelensky’s use of photos, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said that the strike was discussed at the leaders’ meeting and that ‘everyone’ was shocked.

Asked whether Zelensky showed photos of the church attack to Trump and other leaders, Confavreux said ‘the discussions remain in the room.’ 

But he confirmed that they discussed the latest strikes ‘and how unacceptable they were for everyone, because they were against international law.’