British couple calls encounter with Russian warship firing shots 'unreal'

A retired British couple has described their encounter with a Russian warship firing warning shots in the English Channel as an "unreal" experience. Jane and Alan Kaly, sailing their yacht approximately 37 kilometers off the Isle of Wight, found themselves near the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer deemed the firing of shots ahead of a UK-registered yacht's path "reckless." The Ministry of Defence stated it was an "isolated incident." However, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed the yacht was "dangerously approaching" the warship, a assertion the Kaly's deny, stating they were "nowhere near a collision course."

Jane Kaly recounted to BBC Newsnight that the warship sounded its horn five times, signaling a query about being seen. The couple immediately altered course by two degrees to indicate they had noticed the vessel. Minutes later, the warship sounded its horn again, followed by four or five shots from small arms fire. "It wasn't aimed at us – we believe it was warning fire into the air," she said.

Russian warships frequently transit the international waters of the English Channel, which are separate from British and French territorial waters. Their movements are typically monitored by Royal Navy vessels. The Russian Ministry of Defence had previously stated that the crew of the Admiral Grigorovich fired their weapons ahead of the yacht's course after failed radio communications and the firing of warning flares. They maintained that their sailors acted "in full accordance with international maritime navigation rules."

Starmer emphasized that the incident "should not have happened" and expressed sympathy for the couple, who he believed must have been "terrified." He noted the Ministry of Defence's assessment that the Russian ship was adrift and the shots were warnings. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson confirmed that the shots were not aimed at the vessel and were intended to prevent a potential collision. Jane Kaly, however, insisted their yacht, the Bright Future, was not on a collision course and reported the incident as a danger to navigation.