The British and Russian Navies have clashed in a heated sea feud as a Russian war ship passed through British waters on its way back from Syria. A Royal Navy warship was escorting a Russian aircraft carrier and reportedly “watched [it] every movement” as it passed through the English Channel.
British Defense Ministry Michael Fallon launched the first salvo on January 25th saying that the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is the Kremlin’s “ship of shame.”
“We will keep a close eye on the Admiral Kuznetsov as it skulks back to Russia. A ship of shame whose mission has only extended the suffering of the Syrian people,” Fallon said.
“We are man-marking these vessels every step of the way around the UK as part of our steadfast commitment to keep Britain safe,” he added.
Russian Defense Minister fired right back belittling the Royal Navy for its “escort services” and suggesting that Fallon’s statement was a way to deflect attention of British tax payers away from “real problems of the state of the Royal Navy”.
“Russian warships don’t need this kind of senseless escort services in the first place,” Russian Defense Igor Konashenkov told the Interfax news agency on Thursday.
Konashenko was also quick to remind the British Defense Minister about the four failed missile tests by a British submarine, which was reported earlier this week in the Sunday Times.
“We’d advise Mr. Fallon to pay a little more attention to the British fleet—and according to reports in the British press, he has every reason to do so,” Konashenkov said.
The Admiral Kuznetsov includes over 40 planes and helicopters and it reportedly entered British waters on Wednesday, January 25th. The Royal Navy promised to “keep watch on [it] every movement” and “use state-of-the-art radars to track the course and speed of the ships as they pass close to the UK,” the spokesperson said.
“My ship’s company of 190 sailors take great pride in the role they play as one of the UK’s on-call warships to deal with this type of situation,” British commander Chris Ansell said.
The Russians however were angry about the escort. And even more upset about the “ship of shame” comment.
One Russian National security official also jumped into the fray calling the Royal Navy impotent.
“When minister of defense allows himself to say such nasty things to his colleagues despite the all norms of behavior in the military world—it is useless to even respond to it. Everybody understands why Fallon has said this—because of military and political impotence.”
“Instead of a ‘senile lady’ who used to rule in the area, you now have another power which is young Russia—that is why they are mad,” he added.
The British Royal Navy reportedly spent over $1.7 million tracking Russian war ships passing through the English Channel to Syria.