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Relations between London and Moscow were at crisis point last night after a Russian vessel pursuing a Royal Navy warship opened fire in a dramatic incident witnessed by the Daily Mail.
Repeated bursts of cannon fire could be heard off the deck of HMS Defender as President Vladimir Putin's forces responded to the warship legitimately entering Crimean territorial waters in the Black Sea.
Russian military sources confirmed the incident early yesterday afternoon approximately five miles from Cape Fiolent, a prominent landmark on the Crimean coastline.
A Russian statement said: 'The destroyer had been warned that weapons would be used if it trespassed the border of the Russian Federation. It did not react to the warning.'
Russian military officials also claimed a Russian plane dropped four high explosive fragmentation bombs as another warning to the UK warship.
But this claim is almost certainly propaganda as no ordnance of this nature was seen or heard by the crew of Defender or picked up by her hi-tech sensors.
After the incident, the Queen sent a message of 'best wishes and a safe journey' to the crew, which was announced over the tannoy by the warship's captain, Commander Vincent Owen. Russia reacted angrily, calling the warship's actions an act of 'blatant provocation' and summoning the British defence attache in Moscow for a dressing-down.
British officials are expected to discuss the incident with Nato allies to agree a co-ordinated response to future Russian aggression.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told MPs that Russia remained a 'threat to stability', pointing to the 2018 Salisbury poisoning.
The latest incident saw more than 50 interactions with Russian aircraft recorded by Defender in a few hours. Commander Owen told the Mail: 'That is the closest I have come to a Russian vessel in my 21-year career. I suspect the gunfire was from one of the coastguard vehicles.
