Russia firing shots in the direction of a yacht belonging to British pensioners was ridiculed today in Ukraine. “It seems the Russian fleet has finally found an enemy it is not afraid to list as a threat to national security,” mocked Telegram channel Pravda Gerashchenko.
It comes after a Russian warship fired warning shots near a yacht in the English Channel on Tuesday after the two vessels came into close contact amid foggy conditions. Alan Kelvey, 71, and his wife Jane, 69, were sailing aboard the UK-registered yacht Bright Future when shots were reportedly fired from the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich at a distance of approximately 500 yards. No injuries or damages have been reported by the yacht, which continued its journey following the alleged incident.
Ukraine has depleted Russian naval firepower in the Black Sea, sinking or destroying dozens of ships, and believes Putin’s sea power is over-hyped. Leading TV presenter Dmitry Gordon questioned the Russian explanation over the English Channel incident involving the warship. Admiral Grigorovich: “A sailing yacht tried to ram a military frigate. Very ‘convincing!'”
Nexta channel challenged an early report from Russian military outlet Fighterbomber that “the Admiral Grigorovich opened fire as a warning to prevent an attempt by two British warships to seize the escorted vessel”.
Showing a picture of the Bright Future yacht, owned by Jane and Alan Kelvey, the channel said: “This is what the yacht threatened by the Russian frigate in the English Channel looks like.
“The Z crowd [Putin’s pro-war propaganda media] overhyped it.
“With one sleight of hand, a pensioners’ yacht turns into two warships.
“Is this the kind of report that will land on Putin’s desk too?”
Meanwhile, Russia’s most prominent woman diplomat Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Putin’s foreign ministry, “joked” that Russia could sail the Admiral Grigorovich up the Moscow River past the British Embassy.
Showing a map of Moscow, she said: “Would Admiral Grigorovich be returning home by this route?
“Just asking in advance, in case the British embassy fancies another dangerous close encounter.”
