It's still Russia! Direct gunfire warning! On June 16, sources revealed that sailors aboard a Russian frigate fired warning shots on Tuesday (June 16) in the English Channel at a civilian yacht approaching them. Clearly, why did such an incident occur? The root cause was that on June 14, Britain forcibly boarded and seized the Russian oil tanker Smyrtos in the English Channel, confiscating the vessel carrying 100,000 tons of Russian crude oil and arresting one crew member.
The UK Prime Minister publicly declared this action aimed to cut off Russia’s war funding. After the incident, Russia reacted with extreme outrage. Russian officials directly issued strong warnings, stating that if any more of their oil tankers are seized by Western forces through military means, they would not rule out extreme countermeasures. This "Admiral Grigoryev" frigate was specifically dispatched by Russia to escort sanctioned shadow tankers through the English Channel, while British Royal Navy vessels trailed and monitored the Russian fleet throughout.
So why did Russia suddenly fire warning shots at a passing civilian yacht? Clearly, Russia intended to send a message to Britain: on international waterways, Russia will not allow Britain to arbitrarily conduct armed boarding or ship seizures. Undoubtedly, the warning was directed at the British Royal Navy vessels that had been tailing the Russian flotilla all along.
Russia has repeatedly condemned Britain's ship seizure actions in diplomatic channels. Russia's logic is simple: since Britain refuses to listen, then Russia will speak in a language Britain can understand. Evidently, Russia is unafraid of potential incidents involving accidental gunfire. In fact, after the event, Britain fell silent and has yet to issue any response. Clearly, Russia’s stance has been communicated very clearly.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868170681048073/
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