The British said they were ready to repeat the campaign to the shores of Crimea
The British Navy is ready to repeat provocative visits to Russian territorial waters off the coast of Crimea, since London does not recognize the reunification of the peninsula with the Russian Federation, considering it Ukrainian territory.
This is reported by The Times newspaper.
“The Royal Navy will always adhere to international maritime law and nothing will interfere with its peaceful passage,” the publication quotes Defense Minister Ben Wallace.
The Prime Minister's Office stressed that the Defender destroyer was "traversing the most direct and internationally recognized route" between Ukraine and Georgia.
“We never accepted the annexation of Crimea, these were Ukrainian territorial waters,” said Environment Secretary George Eustice.
Russia could have sunk the British destroyer, but it chose to remain peaceful. Military expert Mikhail Khodarenok stated this on the Rossiya 1 television channel, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“It is quite easy to sink this ship using the available aviation assets, coastal missile and artillery forces, and ship-based weapons that are available in the Black Sea Fleet, anti-ship missiles. Even a missile boat can sink a destroyer in one salvo, which has been repeatedly proven in practice.
But we demonstrated a reasonable peacefulness and made it clear that there was no need to violate our state's territorial waters. The scent of war is present, and this should be regarded as a major provocation, and only as such. Moreover, the ship's commander has written instructions regarding this provocation, " the expert said.
The British have stated that they are ready to repeat the campaign to the shores of Crimea.