MOSCOW (RIA Novosti): A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson , commenting on the statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the incident with a British destroyer in the Black Sea , said that the ship was acting in accordance with international law.
Putin said in a direct line on Wednesday that the provocation with the participation of the British destroyer Defender immediately after the Russia-US summit was undertaken to show the West’s disrespect for the choice of the Crimeans. The Russian president noted that not only the British, but also the Americans participated in this provocation in the Black Sea – their reconnaissance aircraft tried to record the response actions of the Russian military.
British destroyer Defender in the Bosphorus – Russia news today
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“The military will excuse me.” Putin let it slip about the surveillance of the British destroyer
“I said from the very beginning that this ship of the Royal Navy made a peaceful passage through Ukrainian territorial waters in accordance with international law,” Reuters quoted Johnson’s spokesman as saying.
On June 23, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the British destroyer Defender crossed the Russian border near Cape Fiolent (Crimea). The Russian border ship, after repeated warnings, fired warning shots, and the Su-24M fired warning bombings along the path of the destroyer.
The British Ministry of Defense and the Government Office maintain that the destroyer was not fired upon and was not in Russian territorial waters. Also, the British Ministry of Defense said that Russia was conducting firing practice in the Black Sea and had warned the “maritime community” in advance about its actions. However, a journalist on board the British vessel confirmed that the ship deliberately entered Russian territorial waters.