British navy ship halted from entering territorial waters: Russia

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia has stopped a British Royal Navy destroyer that it said was violating its waters, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday.

According to the ministry, the Defender entered Russian territorial waters near Cape Fiolent in the Black Sea and did not respond to warnings of the Russian coastal forces.

"At 11:52 on June 23, the destroyer Defender of the British Navy, operating in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, crossed the state border of the Russian Federation and entered the territorial sea near Cape Fiolent for 3 km," the ministry said.

It added that a Russian coast guard ship then fired warning shots at the Defender and a Su-24 fighter jet carried out a warning bombing after which the destroyer turned back.

"At 12:06 and 12:08, a border patrol ship fired a warning shot. At 12:19, the Su-24M aircraft performed a warning bombing along the course of the Defender destroyer. Thanks to the joint actions of the Black Sea Fleet and the Border Service of the FSB [Federal Security Service] of Russia, the Defender destroyer left the borders of the territorial sea of the Russian Federation," it said.