Russian naval activity near Britain increases in the holiday period, only a few days after foreign secretary Boris Johnson’s trip to MoscowA British ship escorted a Russian vessel as it passed near UK territorial waters over Christmas, Britain’s defence ministry said on Tuesday, adding that Russian naval activity near Britain had increased in the holiday period. The frigate HMS St Albans departed on 23 December to track the new Russian warship Admiral Gorshkov as it moved through the North Sea. The Royal Navy vessel monitored the Russian ship over Christmas and will return to dock in Portsmouth later on Tuesday. While Johnson said he wants to normalise relations with Russia, Moscow blames London for the poor state of relations between the countries. Britain’s defence ministry said another ship, HMS Tyne, was called to escort a Russian intelligence-gathering ship through the North Sea and the English Channel on Christmas Eve.

Source: The Guardian December 26, 2017 00:22 UTC