London:
The UK today scrambled fighter jets after noticing a Russian bomber approaching its airspace. While the Royal Air Force was tracking the Russian plane, the Royal Navy found two separate groups of Russian naval ships near its waters in the English Channel.
Russia has strengthened its military movements in the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the seas surrounding Europe – specifically the Mediterranean, the Baltic, and the North Seas. The British Royal Navy, which closely monitors the North Sea and the English Channel, both outside its borders, noted the presence of a large naval fleet on Thursday.
The UK has sent two Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft to monitor a Russian Bear-F bomber over its nearby airspace. The Royal Navy also sent warships to monitor two groups of Russian Navy ships – one heading towards the Atlantic Ocean, and the other on its way to the Baltic Sea.
The British Ministry of Defense said that this is the second time in three months that Russian military aircraft and naval ships have been seen near its waters and airspace.
“Our adversaries should be in no doubt about our steadfast determination and tremendous ability to protect the United Kingdom,” Luke Pollard, Britain’s armed forces minister, said in a statement.
This comes days after the UK announced a wave of new sanctions against the Russian military-industrial complex and Russian-backed mercenary groups. The latest 56 sanctions imposed by the UK are the largest sanctions package against Russia since May 2023.
According to the UK government, the latest sanctions “disrupt supplies of vital equipment to Vladimir Putin’s war machine and expose the corrupt activities of Russian proxy military groups in Africa.”
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said last week that “today’s measures will continue to confront the Kremlin’s corrosive foreign policy.” He went on to say that the latest sanctions “will disrupt the supply of vital equipment to Putin’s war machine. They will destroy the illicit international networks that Russia has worked so hard to establish.”
The Foreign Minister further said, “Putin is nearly 1,000 days into a war that he thought would only last a few days. He will fail and I will continue to put pressure on the Kremlin and support the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom.”
In September, the UK was the first NATO member state to begin the process of allowing Ukraine to use British cruise missiles deep into Russian territory. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer even flew to Washington, D.C., to meet with Joe Biden over Ukraine’s use of cruise missiles, forcing Moscow to update its nuclear doctrine in a warning to the West that Russia could use nuclear weapons to defend itself.
