The United Kingdom on Wednesday said Russia did not fire warning shots at a British Royal Navy destroyer in the Black Sea, despite an earlier report that claimed this.
“The Royal Navy ship is conducting innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters in accordance with international law,” Britain’s Ministry of Defence said in a tweet.
Earlier, Russia claimed that one of its military ships fired warning shots at Britain’s HMS Defender after it entered Russian waters in the Black Sea, and a Russian jet dropped bombs in its path as a warning.
Russia said the HMS Defender left Russian waters soon after the incident, having ventured as much as three kilometers inside, adding that the confrontation took place near Cape Fiolent, a landmark on the coast of Crimea.
Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 in a move condemned by the West which still considers it Ukrainian territory.
“The destroyer had been warned that weapons would be used if it trespasses the border of the Russian Federation. It did not react to the warning,” Russian military said.
A Russian bomber dropped four high explosive fragmentation bombs as a warning in the British destroyer’s path, according to the Russian ministry.
