Royal Navy intercepts two Russian warships in English Channel amid spike in activity near British waters
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said HMS Severn intercepted a corvette and a tanker, named RFN Stoikiy and Yelnya respectively, as they sailed west through the Dover Strait in the past fortnight
Two Russian warships were intercepted in the English Channel by the Royal Navy, less than a week after a Moscow spy ship was detected in British waters.
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The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said HMS Severn intercepted a corvette and a tanker, named RFN Stoikiy and Yelnya respectively, as they sailed west through the Dover Strait in the past fortnight.
It comes after the Russian spy ship Yantar was spotted off the coast of Scotland last week and shone its lasers at RAF pilots who flew overhead to surveil it.
Defence Secretary John Healey called the move "deeply dangerous", adding that there had been a 30 per cent increase in Russian vessels threatening UK waters in the past two years.
He then warned president Vladimir Putin: "We see you. We know what you're doing. We are ready."
After heading off the Stoikiy and the Yelnya, the HMS Severn later handed over monitoring duties to a Nato ally off the coast of Brittany, north west France, the MoD said.
The UK ship "continued to observe from a distance and remained ready to respond to any unexpected activity", it added.
Back in May, the Royal Navy dispatched its "flying tigers" squadron onboard two vessels to meet the Stoikiy as it sailed west through the English Channel to meet two Russian support ships, the Sparta IV and General Skobelev, as they returned from the Mediterranean.
The group of ships headed back to the Baltic Sea, watched by HMS Hurworth.
The rise in Russian activity in UK waters was evidence of increased "Russian aggression right across the board", Healey said.
The defence secretary said he had changed the Royal Navy's rules of engagement so that it could follow the Yantar more closely "when it is in our wider waters".
Russian officials said Moscow is "not interested in British underwater communications" and "only raises a smile" at Healey's comments.
"The actions of our country do not affect the interests of the United Kingdom and are not aimed at undermining its security," the embassy said.
"We are not interested in British underwater communications."