Incident between Russia and the United Kingdom in the Black Sea on 23 June 2021
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On 21 June 2021, the United Kingdom and Ukraine signed a naval cooperation agreement onboardHMS Defender, whilst in port atOdesa,Ukraine.[3][4] Under the terms of the agreement, the United Kingdom will sell two refurbishedSandown-class minehunters to Ukraine and produce eight small missile warships for the country.[3] The United Kingdom will also construct a new naval base on the Black Sea as the primary fleet base for theUkrainian Navy and a base on theSea of Azov.[5] The agreement also provided for the sale ofmissiles to Ukraine, and for training and support for these.[5]
In an account partially contradicted by the UK government, theMinistry of Defence of the Russian Federation and border guards said they firedwarning shots from coast guard patrol ships and dropped bombs from aSukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft in the path ofDefender after, according to theRussian Defence Ministry, it had allegedly strayed for about 20 minutes as far as 3 km (2 miles) into waters off the coast ofCrimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 in a move mostlyunrecognised internationally.[7][8] The UK military denied any warning shots were fired and said the ship was ininnocent passage in Ukraine'sterritorial sea, later clarifying that heavy guns were fired three miles astern and could not be considered to be warning shots. BBC defence correspondentJonathan Beale on board the vessel confirmed that the ship went to action stations prior to the transit; the crew put onflash protection in case of live fire; they were warned on the radio that the Russians would fire, and heard some firing in the distance.[9][10][11] TheRussian Ministry of Defence and theRussian Coastguard released two videos, one of them allegedly taken from a Russian fighter and the other from a patrol boat, showing that shots were actually fired near HMSDefender.[12][13] This would be the first time that Russian forces had fired on a British warship since theAllied intervention in Russia in 1919.[14] HMSDefender arrived in Batumi on 26 June.[15]
On 27 June, secret documents relating to the passage of HMSDefender through Ukraine's territorial waters were discovered at a bus stop inKent. These documents revealed that the Royal Navy considered different hypothetical reactions from Russia in response to the ship's passage and was prepared for the possibility that Russia may respond in an aggressive manner. The documents showed the passage was a calculated decision by the British government to make a show of support for Ukraine.[16] Thesenior civil servant who lost the files had his security clearance suspended. He had been due to become a United Kingdom ambassador toNATO.[17]
From 15:30 to 20:30 on 24 June, theRussian Air Force conducted a series of "mock attacks" on the Dutch frigateHNLMS Evertsen that had been sailing in the Black Sea with HMSDefender.[18] Russian Foreign Ministry spokespersonMaria Zakharova accused the frigate of "dangerous manoeuvring" that was a "deliberate provocation".[19] In response, the British Ministry of Defence stated that "freedom of navigation is a fundamental right exercised by all nations".[20]
British Prime MinisterBoris Johnson defended the decision to conduct the patrol as "entirely right".[21] Deputy Russian Foreign MinisterSergei Ryabkov warned that Russia would drop bombs "not only in its path, but also on target" if British vessels were involved in future incidents.[22] Russian PresidentVladimir Putin accused the United Kingdom of "deliberate provocation" and stated that theUnited States sent a plane to monitor the Russian response.[23]
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AdmiralNikolai Yevmenov
Vice-AdmiralRené Tas,Commander
