Sailors on board a Russian frigate fired warning shots at a civilian yacht that had come near to it in the English Channel, close to British territorial waters, a source familiar with the incident on Tuesday said.
Britain's Ministry of Defence said it was investigating reports of an incident in the English Channel. No injuries were reported.
The incident involved the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich and it was being monitored by a Royal Navy vessel at the time, according to the source familiar with the incident.
A UK-registered yacht alleged that a Russian Navy vessel had fired the warning shots at a distance of approximately 500 yards (457 metres), the source said. It took place about 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, outside UK territorial waters.
On Sunday, British commandos boarded and intercepted a sanctioned Russian "shadow fleet" oil tanker in the English Channel, leading for the first time an operation to disrupt the oil revenue that helps fund Russia's war in Ukraine.
The source said Tuesday's event was not viewed as being linked to that operation and was being treated as an isolated incident.
The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
(Reporting by William James and Muvija M; editing by Michael Holden and Gareth Jones)
