Royal Navy shadows NINE Russian warships around the UK in two weeks including destroyer and corvette as Putin increases his military presence in British waters
Nine Russian warships have been shadowed by the Royal Navy as they sailed in waters around the UK in the past two weeks.
The ships have included a surfaced submarine, a destroyer, a corvette and a patrol ship along with their supporting tugs and supply ships travelling in the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the west coast of Scotland.
First Sea Lord Admiral Tony Radakin said: 'This is why the Royal Navy is at sea every day, protecting the UK and our interests.
'Even with the pressures of Covid, we remain at short notice to respond to threats both in home waters and around the world.
'Despite the increase in Russian activity, both on the surface and underwater, we are always ready to respond.'
The incursions add to already fraught relations between the UK and Russia. They nosedived after the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with the nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury in 2018.
Nine Russian warships have been shadowed by the Royal Navy as they sailed in waters around the UK in the past two weeks. Pictured: Russian president Vladimir Putin is likely behind his navy's decision to sail near Britain
Patrol ship HMS Severn was on duty in the English Channel and Dover Strait, where it shadowed the corvette Boikiy (pictured at the back)
Type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland, based at Devonport, watched the movements of Udaloy-class destroyer the Vice-Admiral Kulakov
A sailor on board HMS Severn monitoring Russian patrol ship Vasiliy Bykov
The Russian warships spotted in the past two weeks
Outer Hebrides - The frigate HMS Northumberland watched the movements of the destroyer, the Vice-Admiral Kulakov, as she sailed off the west coast of Scotland.
The English Channel and Dover Strait - the patrol ship HMS Severn was on duty and she shadowed a surfaced submarine, the Stary Oskol.
She also shadowed the corvette Boikiy, patrol ship Vasiliy Bykov and support ships.
The Channel - Severn was also on patrol as the Vice-Admiral Kulakov sailed through.
Baie de Seinea - Severn was joined by allied French Navy ships and aircraft when Russian ships sheltered from bad weather in the bay in northern France.
Celtic Sea - Three Royal Navy warships – HMS Tyne, HMS Richmond and HMS Kent – combined to escort the same group of Russian ships as they operated in the sea.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has put the strength of his navy at the centrepiece of the modernisation of his armed forces amid the tensions with the West.
In July he said the navy would get 40 new ships even as Russia grapples with financial problems made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.
In the Royal Navy's defensive operations in the last two weeks, Type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland, based at Devonport, watched the movements of Udaloy-class destroyer the Vice-Admiral Kulakov as it sailed north-west of the Outer Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland.
Patrol ship HMS Severn was on duty in the English Channel and Dover Strait, where it shadowed a surfaced Kilo-class submarine, the Stary Oskol, the corvette Boikiy, patrol ship Vasiliy Bykov and support ships.
Severn was also on patrol as the Vice-Admiral Kulakov sailed through the Channel.
For some of the operation, the Russian ships sheltered from bad weather within the Baie de Seine, northern France, where Severn was joined by allied French navy ships and aircraft.
Russian ships have repeatedly forayed close to Britain in recent months and years, with vessels having to be escorted through the English channel. In July, a Russian submarine carrying land attack missiles was intercepted in the Channel by two Royal Navy warships.
The Krasnodar sub was spotted passing through the Dover strait, close to UK waters.
It is feared it may have breached treaty rules that forbid the route except for exceptional repair reasons.
And a bombshell report published in July found that Russia 'tried to influence 2014 Scottish independence referendum but did not interfere with the Brexit vote'.
MPs and peers on the Intelligence and Security Committee carried out an investigation into the threats Moscow poses to Britain.
Their delayed report on Russia said not enough was done in Whitehall to establish what role Russia played in the June 2016 vote on whether the UK should stay in the EU.
The ships have included a surfaced submarine, a destroyer, a corvette and a patrol ship along with their supporting tugs and supply ships travelling in the English Channel, Celtic Sea and the west coast of Scotland
Type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland, based at Devonport, watched the movements of Udaloy-class destroyer the Vice-Admiral Kulakov as it sailed north-west of the Outer Hebrides
Patrol ship HMS Severn was on duty in the English Channel and Dover Strait, where it shadowed the corvette Boikiy
It also questioned whether Britain went far enough in clamping down on the offshore wealth of Russian oligarchs and imposing tough sanctions on those linked to Vladimir Putin.
The committee warned the UK had long 'underestimated' the threat posed by the Kremlin, meaning Britain is now having to 'play catch up' because it is 'clearly a target for Russian disinformation'.
The report concluded that there is 'credible' evidence that Russia did try to sway the 2014 Scottish independence vote but it said there was no official evidence of such activity relating to the 2016 EU referendum.
RUSSIAN WARSHIPS
Udaloy-class destroyer the Vice-Admiral Kulakov
The ship is a 7,570 ton vessel commissioned into Soviet Navy service in 1982 and serves with the Northern Fleet.
Her length measures 535 feet with a beam of 62 feet and a draught of 26 feet and she can reach speeds of 35 knots and range is out to 10,500 nautical miles.
The Udaloy-class were constructed for anti-submarine functions and she has two 4 SS-N-14 anti submarine/ship missiles.
She also has 4 vertical launchers for SA-N-9 surface-to-air missiles and two 1 100 mm (3.9 in) guns.
Other armaments include one Gibka (3M47) ADMS station, four 30 mm AK630 Gatling guns, two 4 553 mm (22 in) torpedo tubes, Type 53 ASW/ASuW torpedo and RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers.
Kilo-class submarine the Stary Oskol
Kilo class is a type of diesel-electrical attack submarine built for the Soviet Navy.
These attack submarines are mainly intended for anti-shipping and anti-submaire operations in relatively shallow waters.
They are not fast submarines and can reach speeds of 12 knots when on the surface and 20 knots when submerged.
The submarine has six torpedo tubes of standard 533-millimeter diameter with 18 torpedoes.
They were originally configured to carry homing torpedoes and eighteen SS-N-15A Starfish antisubmarine missiles.
Their armament also includes 24 mines, four anti-ship Kalibr missiles and eight 9K34 Strela-3 (SA-N-8 Gremlin) air defence missiles.
Patrol ship Vasiliy Bykov
The vessels are primarily intended for duties such as patrol, monitoring and protection.
She can reach speeds of up to 25 to 30 knots.
The class's armament includes the Kalibr-NK cruise missile, aerosol camouflage, two grenade launchers and two machineguns and a 76.2 mm dual-purpose gun (AK-176)
Steregushchiy-class corvette Boikiy
The Steregushchiy class is the newest class of corvettes being built by the Russian Navy.
It was launched on April 11, 2011, and is part of the Baltic fleet.
The ship full displacement and dimensions are large for a corvette and has been designated as a frigate by NATO.
Her armament includes one 100mm A-190 Arsenal, four 330mm torpedo tubes for Paket-NK anti-torpedo/anti-submarine torpedoes and 14.5mm MTPU pedestal machine guns.