HMS Defender incident

Russia fires warning shots and drops bombs next to British destroyer HMS Defender, after it enters Russian territorial waters off Crimea, after highly insensitive and provocative port call in Odessa. Jonathan Beale BBC reporter onboard described their transit as a 'deliberate move'. They knew they were leaving international waters. British side do not recognize Crimea as Russian territory, claiming they were transiting Ukrainian waters. MoD announced that no shots were directed at the ship, mentioning that Russian gunnery exercises were taking place nearby. A Daily Mail reporter also onboard reported crew were aware of cannon fire from the Russian Coast Guard ships. OSINT sources suggest a US intel aircraft in the area at the time.

Background

 * UK And France Send Patrol Ships To Black Sea, As Kiev Expects Warships - Southfront, May 17, 2021
 * Defending international order: U.S., British, Dutch warships converge in Black Sea - Rick Rozzoff, Antibellum, June 20, 2021
 * Positions of Two NATO Ships Were Falsified Near Russian Black Sea Naval Base - H.I. Sutton, USNI News, June 21, 2021
 * Ukrainian, British and U.S. commandos conduct joint training session on military destroyer Defender - Interfax-Ukraine, June 23, 2021
 * HMS Defender: What will be the fallout from Black Sea incident? - BBC, June 24, 2021
 * HMS Defender is part of the Carrier Strike Force, spearheaded by the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. It peeled off earlier this month to make this Black Sea visit while the rest of the force exercised in the Mediterranean. As part of the UK's new "forward-leaning" foreign and defence policy outlined in the government's recent Integrated Review, the strike force will soon be heading eastwards to the South China Sea. There, together with other nations, it will be challenging China's claims to a vast contested area of sea bordering several countries.
 * UK to boost Ukraine’s naval capabilities under major agreement - Defense Brief, June 25, 2021

Planning

 * British PM Boris Johnson personally ordered warship into Crimean waters, ignoring warnings of his foreign secretary - media report - RT, June 25, 2021
 * Classified Ministry of Defence documents found at bus stop - June 27, 2021
 * MoD dossier is found at BUS STOP: Public finds classified pages about Russian threat to HMS Defender - Daily Mail, June 27, 2021
 * ''One document shows that the Royal Navy's Type-45 destroyer was ordered to sail close to disputed territorial waters off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea in eastern European to make a show of support for Ukraine in the expectation that Moscow could respond with force.

Reactions

 * Incident involving UK destroyer may have unpredictable consequences — senior diplomat - TASS, June 24, 2021
 * HMS Defender’s Encroachment Into the Black Sea – Stop the War Statement - Stop the War coalition, June 24, 2021
 * of HMS Defender warns the Kremlin he will do whatever it takes to protect the 240 people serving on his ship - Daily Mail, June 24, 2021
 * ‘Miscalculation’ in Russian cat and mouse game could lead to full blown war, warns Army chief - Jack Hardy, The Telegraph, June 25, 2021 (archive)
 * British Royal Navy destroyer HMS Defender visits Batumi port - Agenda.Ge, June 27, 2021
 * Putin: HMS Defender Incident in Black Sea is a Complex Provocation Plotted by UK and US - Sputnik, June 30, 2021

Analysis

 * Brits Push Russia War - Finian Cunningham, Sputnik, ''April 20, 2021
 * These Uppity Brits Need A Slap-like Lesson - Moon of Alabama, June 23, 2021
 * UK Is Dangerously Trying To Sabotage Russia's Rapprochement With The West - Andrew Korybko, One World, June 23, 2021
 * The British Navy's Crimean caper ends up like the Borholm bash Baltic bluff Blinken blink - Dances with Bears, June 24, 2021
 * HMS Defender incident: what the law of the sea says - Laura Hood, The Conversation, June 24, 2021
 * UK-Russian confrontation in the Black Sea: An ominous warning - Clara Weiss, WSWS, June 24, 2021
 * Warmongering British Actions in the Black Sea - Craig Murray, June 24, 2021
 * Britannia fools the waves: UK sent clear signal to Moscow with warship in Crimean waters... just probably not the one it intended - Paul Robinson, RT, June 24, 2021
 * War… It’s Just a Shot Away as Brits Provoke Russia - Finian Cunningham, Strategic Culture, June 24, 2021
 * Experts: British HMS Defender Stunt Near Crimea Was Patently Illegal - Moon of Alabama, June 25, 2021
 * Sailing into Black Sea trouble: the right of innocent passage (with some caveats of course) - Nat South, The Saker Blog, June 25, 2021
 * NATO destroyers near Crimea - to sink or not to sink? - Alexander Shtorm, Pravda.ru, June 25, 2021
 * The Crimea incident raises questions about military deals and client journalism - Joe Glenton, The Canary, June 25, 2021
 * British warship provocation near Crimea – the UK is playing with fire - Christelle Néant, Donbass Insider, June 25, 2021
 * "Hitler" learns that Russia fired warning shots at HMS Defender - Bill Purkayastha, June 27, 2021
 * 'Leaked' Documents: British HMS Defender Stunt Near Crimea Was An Intentional Provocation - Moon of Alabama, June 27, 2021
 * Will the Russians Sink a British Ship the Next Time Around? - The Saker, Unz Review, June 28, 2021