HMS Defender incident

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HMS Defender in Istanbul, Turkey on June 9, 2021
The trilateral agreement was signed between UK defense procurement minister Jeremy Quin, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Ukraine’s deputy minister of defense Oleksandr Myroniuk and industry representative David Lockwood from Babcock on the Type 45 Destroyer HMS Defender, which was on a port visit in Odessa. MoD statement
Among documents dumped at bus stop: 'HMS Defender Odessa to Batumi options'

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

Route shown by MarineTraffic (compare with representation by BBC)

Planning

Sources

Russian patrol boats that engaged the Defender
HMS Defender being shadowed by a Russian Su-30SM fighter. (Russian Navy)
A Russian Su-30SM photographed from HMS Defender. Note the SAP-518 jamming pods at the wingtips.

Reactions

HMS Defender arrives in the Black Sea port of Batumi on June 26, 2021. (AFP)

Analysis

April 2021, a coastal warning No 152/21 was issued “on the temporary suspension of the right of innocent passage for foreign warships and state-owned vessels"

Subsequent

See also