A Russian warship has been shadowed through the English Channel by the Royal Navy in a show of military force against tyrant Vladimir Putin. Heavily-armed frigate HMS Somerset was scrambled to watch over the Russian corvette Boiki, and a weapon-carrying merchant ship, for three days.
The Kremlin warship was escorting sanctioned vessel, the Baltic Leader - which was transporting military tech from the Russian naval base in Tartus, Syria. Crew on board the accompanying Boikiy were reportedly seen burning papers and manning the vessel's machine guns as it went through the Channel.
Meanwhile the Boiki was spotted being crewed by men in military fatigues as it passed the coast of the UK. Somerset, which is bristling with its own array of weapons - including anti-ship missiles and a 4. A Royal Navy spokesman said: 'The British Type 23 frigate utilised its powerful sensors and radars to report on Russian movements, launching her Merlin helicopter from Naval Air Squadron to gather valuable information from the sky. The move was a show of force towards Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin pictured.
The Boikiy, a ft-long corvette can carry up to 99 men at a time. The 2,ton ship, which is part of Putin's Baltic fleet, is armed with an AK naval gun, machine guns and eight Kh Uran anti-ship missiles.
Commander Joel Roberts, Somerset's captain, said: 'Somerset is well versed in the escort of Russian ships, having conducted these operations on a number of occasions. Shadowing missions like the one carried out by Somerset are routine for the Royal Navy.
