Russia Says Next Time It May Fire to Hit Intruding Warships

Russia Says Next Time It May Fire to Hit Intruding Warships
A still image taken from a video released by Russia's Defence Ministry allegedly shows British Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender filmed from a Russian military aircraft in the Black Sea, on June 23, 2021. Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/Handout via Reuters
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MOSCOW—Russia is prepared to target intruding warships if they fail to heed warnings, a senior Russian diplomat said Thursday in a tough statement in the wake of a Black Sea incident in which a British destroyer sailed near Crimea in an area that Russia claims as its territorial waters.

Russia said one of its warships fired warning shots and a warplane dropped bombs in the path of British destroyer Defender on Wednesday to drive it away from the area near Sevastopol. Britain denied that account, insisted its ship wasn’t fired upon, and said it was sailing in Ukrainian waters.