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A Russian warship has opened fire off the coast of Devon while being shadowed by a Royal Navy patrol ship.
Neustrashimy, a Kremlin frigate, was around 40 nautical miles south-east of Plymouth when it carried out a gunnery exercise shortly after 9am on Monday.
The vessel’s actions, which have been called “highly unusual” by defence sources, are being seen as a way for Russia to challenge Andy Burnham, who entered Downing Street on Monday.
At the time of the drill, which took place in international waters, the Russian warship was being closely shadowed by HMS Tyne at a distance of two miles, The Telegraph understands.
Russian commanders warned the Navy vessel to move back before the gunnery exercise, with Tyne pulling back to a distance of around five nautical miles.
A Navy source said: “It was quite unusual for the Russian ship to conduct such an exercise like this in the Channel. Although it is international waters, the Channel is a busy shipping lane. Drills like this would normally take place in more open waters.
“You could speculate that Russia was trying to challenge us. They know where the line is and they are just starting to use a bit more obvious exercising and training to remind us.”
Lord Dannatt, who was chief of the general staff between 2006 and 2009, told Times Radio: “I think it’s another illustration of the aggressive instinct shown by Vladimir Putin, of course most clearly demonstrated by his attack on Ukraine.
“But he wants to demonstrate that Russia’s got muscles that it can flex, and it’s not entirely by happenstance that that Russian warship chose to carry out a live fire exercise on the same day that Andy Burnham became prime minister.
“This is an indication from the Kremlin that ‘we’re here and we’re powerful, we’re strong, and what are you going to do about it?’ So it’s a challenge.”
The 425ft Neustrashimy is armed with a 4in main gun, anti-ship missiles, torpedoes and two close-in weapons systems. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is not confirming which weapons the frigate fired during the drill.
The vessel, which is part of Putin’s Baltic fleet, is crewed by around 200 personnel and was commissioned into the Russian navy 33 years ago.
It is unclear when Russia last staged a gunnery exercise this close to the UK. At the time of the incident, the frigate was also being monitored by a French maritime aircraft. The live-fire drill lasted for about 30 minutes, during which HMS Tyne monitored the activity.
A spokesman for the MoD said: “The Royal Navy monitored that exercise throughout, continues to track the vessel’s activity closely and stands ready to protect UK national security.”
The provocation by the Kremlin is being seen as the first military challenge for Mr Burnham and Wes Streeting, his new Defence Secretary.
Putin has been piling pressure on Britain after Sir Keir Starmer, the former prime minister, authorised the use of troops to seize Russian oil tankers that are part of the Kremlin’s sanctioned shadow fleet in March. In response, Russia has deployed warships to guard the vessels in the Channel.
On Tuesday, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said there was “no need to read any hints” into the ship’s activity.
Asked whether the Russian government felt relations with the UK would improve under the new prime minister, Mr Peskov said it had “no such hopes”.
He added: “One of his (Burnham’s) first actions was to issue statements expressing support for Ukraine and, consequently, his intention to do everything possible to continue the war,”
Last month, Royal Marines stormed a shadow fleet tanker as it sailed through the Channel during a six-hour operation. The mission was the first of its kind carried out by the UK against the shadow fleet, which illegally transports oil to fund Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Also in June, a Russian frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich, fired warning shots at a retired British couple as they sailed their yacht in the Channel.
Jane and Alan Kelvey were sailing in international waters 23 miles off the coast of the Isle of Wight when the warship opened fire amid fears the yacht was in its path. Sir Keir described the Russian ship’s actions as “reckless”.
The Russian defence ministry said the Admiral Grigorovich’s crew had fired shots into the yacht’s path with rifles after making several attempts to contact the boat over the radio and launching warning flares.
The ministry added the actions by the Russian sailors were in “strict accordance with international shipping regulations”. Nobody was injured.
Ed Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, used his first diplomatic phone call to speak with his Ukrainian counterpart, as war continues in eastern Europe.
“Ukraine is on the front line of the fight for the values of freedom and democracy in Europe,” Mr Miliband wrote on X.
Andrii Sybiha, Kyiv’s minister of foreign affairs, wrote on social media: “I briefed my colleague on the latest developments on the battlefield and thanked him for his solidarity following Russia’s latest massive attack on Kyiv.
“We discussed further strengthening our co-operation, continued military assistance, support for Ukraine’s energy sector ahead of winter, increasing pressure on Russia.”
A Foreign Office spokesman said their call showed the Government’s “commitment to continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Ukraine, as Britain has done for the last four years”.
