Резюме: | Russia is prepared to fire upon intruding warships, a senior Russian diplomat said Thursday in a tough warning 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. The incident marked the first time since the Cold War that Moscow acknowledged using live ammunition to deter a NATO warship, underlining the rising threat of military collisions amid Russia-West tensions. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Thursday that “the inviolability of the Russian borders is an absolute imperative,” adding that it will be protected “by all means, diplomatic, political and military if needed.” He said the British navy should rename its destroyer from Defender to Aggressor and warned that “those who try to test our strength are taking high risks.” Asked what Russia would do to prevent such intrusions in the future, Ryabkov told reporters it would stand ready to fire on targets if warnings don’t work. “We may appeal to reason and demand to respect international law,” Ryabkov said, according to the Interfax news agency. “If it doesn’t help, we may drop bombs and not just in the path but right on target if colleagues don’t get it otherwise.” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman deplored what he described as a “deliberate and well-prepared provocation” by Britain and seconded the tough warning. “If unacceptable provocative actions are repeated, if those actions go too far, no options to legitimately protect the borders of the Russian Federation could be excluded,” the spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said in a call with reporters. On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said a patrol ship fired warning shots after the HMS Defender had ignored a notice against intrusion and sailed 3 kilometers (1.6 nautical miles) into Russia’s territorial waters near Sevastopol, the main Russian naval base in Crimea. It said a Russian Su-24 bomber also dropped four bombs ahead of the vessel to persuade the Defender to change course. Minutes later, the Defender left Russian waters, the ministry said. Britain denied the Defender had been fired on or that bombs were dropped in its path. It insisted that the ship was making a routine journey through an internationally recognized travel lane and remained in Ukrainian waters. The U.K., like most of the international community, recognizes Crimea as part of Ukraine despite the peninsula’s 2014 annexation by Russia. “Under international law, you can take the closest, fastest route from one point to another,” Cabinet minister George Eustice told Sky News on Thursday. “HMS Defender was passing through Ukrainian waters … and that was the logical route for it to take.” Russia long has chafed at NATO warships visiting near Crimea as destabilizing, even though three NATO members — Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria — all have Black Sea coastlines. In April, Russia declared a broader area off Crimea closed to foreign naval ships until November, a move that drew strong protests from Ukraine and the West. The Russian navy chief, Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov, […]
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