The British destroyer HMS Defender entered the Georgian port of Batumi (Autonomous Republic of Adjara). This is stated in the message of the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Georgia, TASS reports.
“We are delighted to host one of the most powerful British Navy destroyers, HMS Defender, in Batumi. The United Kingdom continues to work with partners and allies in the Black Sea region to ensure security,” the embassy said in a Facebook post. The diplomatic mission did not specify how long the ship would stay in Georgia.
On Wednesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the invasion of the Russian Federation’s territorial waters by the destroyer Defender near Cape Fiolent in Crimea. The Russian military and border guards opened warning fire at the direction of the destroyer’s movement, after which it left the borders of the territorial sea of the Russian Federation. In the defense department, the actions of the crew of the British ship were called a gross violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The British side claimed that the destroyer was performing “peaceful passage through the territorial waters of the Ukraine.” According to its version, the Russian servicemen did not open fire in the direction of the ship, but “conducted training exercises.”
On Thursday, the Russian FSS released a video of warning shots at the heading of a British destroyer in the Black Sea. The video shows how the crew of the Federal Security Service (FSS) border boat warned the Defender crew several times that it would open fire if they crossed the Russian border, and then fired warning shots along the destroyer’s course.