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The Royal Navy intercepted a Russian warship and tanker in the Dover Strait and English Channel
James C. ReynoldsSunday 23 November 2025 16:38 GMTComments
open image in galleryFile photo - Patrol vessel HMS Severn shadowed the two Russian vessels (PA Archive)
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The Royal Navy intercepted a Russian warship and a tanker off the coast of the United Kingdom.
HMS Severn, a patrol vessel, shadowed the RFN Stoikiy corvette and a tanker vessel in the past fortnight, the Ministry of Defence said on Sunday.
The navy monitored the Russian movements through the Dover Strait and west through the English Channel. The ministry did not say exactly when the interception happened.
HMS Severn later handed over monitoring duties to a NATO ally off the coast of Brittany, but continued to observe from a distance, the MoD said.
The ministry reported a 30 per cent increase in Russian vessels “threatening” UK waters in the past two years.
open image in galleryFile - British patrol vessel HMS Severn followed the Russian ships as part of a round-the-clock shadowing operation (AFP via Getty Images)Commander Grant Dalgleish, HMS Severn's Commanding Officer, said the operation reinforced the Navy’s close work with Nato allies and highlighted the value of patrol ships.
The announcement came just days after defence secretary John Healey said that a Russian spy ship was spotted on the edge of UK waters, where it pointed lasers at the RAF pilots tracking it.
While tailing spy ship Yantar, a Royal Navy frigate and other civilian ships experienced GPS jamming.
The frigate HMS Somerset’s combat capabilities were not affected, the MoD said.
The Royal Air Force has since deployed three P-8 Poseidon aircraft to Iceland’s Keflavik Air base to conduct surveillance operations as part of what the MoD called Nato’s collective defence.
The reconnaissance planes will patrol for Russian ships and submartines in the North Atlantic and the Arctic.
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