A Russian Frigate Escorted Two Sanctioned Tankers Through the English Channel-Under the Watch of a British Vessel

The Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich escorted two sanctioned tankers through the English Channel the day before, The Guardian reports. Trailing behind them was the British support vessel RFA Tideforce.

In the paper’s assessment, the episode looks like a pointed display—“Putin is mocking Starmer,” who had earlier vowed to detain sanctioned Russian vessels.

The Telegraph also reported on Wednesday that two more sanctioned tankers had passed through the English Channel in the opposite direction.

A month earlier, Keir Starmer expanded the powers of British special units, authorizing them to seize an “armada of rusty ships” that, he said, were illegally transporting oil and helping finance Russia’s war against Ukraine. He said he would deliver an “even stronger blow” against the shadow fleet if such vessels entered British waters. Even so, not a single Russian ship has been detained so far.