A British warship and helicopter were sent to escort a Russian frigate out of the English Channel for the second time this month.
Putin’s warship the RFN Admiral Golovko was spotted ‘prowling’ near the UK, the Royal Navy said in a statement yesterday.
They said HMS St Albans was sent from Plymouth to respond to the Russian warship, which has been out on operations since November last year, as it headed east.
The British warship launched a Merlin helicopter to gather information form the air, ‘before handing over escorting duties to NATO allies as Golovoko continued its journey from the Mediterranean.’
HMS St Albans Commanding Officer, Matt Teare, said: ‘HMS St Albans is at very high readiness to operate whenever, and wherever, the nation needs us in the protection of our home and the waters surrounding it.
‘We have twice been activated in recent weeks to conduct this type of operation and I am extremely proud of the professionalism of my crew and their tireless dedication to keeping our nation safe.’
It was the second such activation for the warship this month, having monitored the Russian corvette – a fast, manoueverable warship – Stoikiy in a three-day operation two weeks ago.
The Navy said that patrol ship HMS Mersey based in Portsmouth had also recently tracked RFN Soobrazitelny as the corvette sailed westward in the Channel.
Russian tanker Kola was also monitored heading in the same direction in a coordinated effort with the Joint Maritime Security Centre.
Cmdr Teare said: ‘We were proud to work alongside HMS Mersey and I would like to thank RFA Tidesurge for her logistical support during the operation.
‘HMS St Albans is currently operating as part of a NATO Task Group and the regularity of Russian activity around the United Kingdom reinforces the vital importance of continuous integration with our allies and partners.’
The latest operation comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited HMS Prince of Wales on Thursday, visiting sailors, aviators, soldiers, and marines onboard.
HMS Prince of Wales, the UK’s largest and most powerful aircraft carrier, departed Portsmouth on Tuesday for a deployment to the Indo-Pacific.
On Thursday, Russia’s Tass news agency said the Admiral Golovko frigate had completed Mediterranean missions and sailed the English Channel.
Russia’s Northern Fleet said: ‘The frigate completed the missions of its first long sortie to the Mediterranean Sea several days ago. In the Mediterranean, she operated within the Russian Navy force,’ it said.
The frigate has held a bilateral ‘Friendship Sea’ exercise with Egypt.
Putin lost his Navy base in the Mediterranean coastal city of Tartus in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime, which Russia backed throughout the civil war.
To travel between St Petersburg and the Mediterranean, routes forecast by MarineTraffic show that the vessels will go through the English Channel and then the North Sea.
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