Russian warship fires warning shots at British couple’s yacht in English Channel

A retired British couple say they were left shaken after a Russian naval frigate fired warning shots across the bow of their yacht in the English Channel last week, in an incident that has drawn sharp condemnation from UK defence officials.

What happened on the water

David and Margaret Cull, both in their 60s, were sailing their 38-foot vessel, the Sea Grace, roughly 12 nautical miles off the coast of Cornwall when they spotted the warship closing in at speed. David said he initially assumed it was a NATO vessel on routine patrol. He was wrong.

‘A warning fire went up — we saw the flash before we heard anything,’ David told reporters on Tuesday. ‘Margaret grabbed my arm and we both just froze. We had no idea what was happening or why we’d been targeted.’

The couple said the frigate, later identified as the Admiral Gorshkov, came within approximately 400 metres of the Sea Grace before veering off. The entire encounter lasted around 11 minutes. They weren’t injured, but their radio equipment was damaged, they said, possibly from the acoustic shock of the shots.

Russia’s position and the UK response

The Russian Ministry of Defence hasn’t issued a formal comment. But a spokesperson for the UK’s Royal Navy confirmed the incident is under active investigation and that British patrol vessels were dispatched to the area within the hour.

‘We take any interaction between foreign military assets and British civilians in UK waters extremely seriously,’ the spokesperson said. ‘The appropriate authorities are reviewing all available data, including vessel tracking records from the past seven days.’

The Admiral Gorshkov has been monitored intermittently by NATO allies since it departed the Barents Sea in early spring. It’s a formidable ship — capable of carrying hypersonic Zircon missiles — and its presence in the Channel has been a point of tension for several weeks.

The couple’s ordeal

David and Margaret had set out from Plymouth three days earlier, planning a leisure trip to the Isles of Scilly. They’d done that same route at least a dozen times over the past 15 years.

Nothing like this had ever happened before.

Margaret said she radioed the coastguard immediately after the frigate withdrew. ‘My hands were trembling,’ she said. ‘We couldn’t quite believe it was real.’ A Royal Navy escort met them approximately 90 minutes later and accompanied them safely back to port.

What comes next

The incident has reignited debate about civilian safety in waters where Russian military vessels operate with increasing regularity. Defence analysts say the Channel has seen a notable uptick in Russian naval activity since 2022, with frigates and submarines passing through more frequently than at any point in the past two decades.

So far, no formal diplomatic protest has been lodged, though senior MPs are already calling for one. The Culls, for their part, say they’re not sure they’ll take the Sea Grace out again anytime soon. ‘We just want answers,’ David said. ‘We weren’t in anyone’s way.’