The 2021 Black Sea incident was a

diplomatic incident {{Refimprove, date=December 2011 An international incident (or diplomatic incident) is a seemingly relatively small or limited action, incident or clash that results in a wider dispute between two or more nation-states. International incidents can ...

between

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

involving the British destroyer ''

HMS Defender Eight ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Defender'': * , a 12-gun ''Courser''-class gun-brig launched in 1797 and on the Navy List until 1802. * , a 14-gun ''Archer''-class gun-brig launched in 1804 and wrecked in 1809. * , an 8-gu ...

'' while it transited from

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, to

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. According to leaked classified documents — found at a bus stop one day before the incident — the incident was a calculated decision by the British government to make a show of support for Ukraine, despite the possible risks involved.

Background

In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula. The British government does not recognise the annexation of Crimea.

Ukraine–United Kingdom naval agreement

On 21 June 2021, the United Kingdom and Ukraine signed a naval cooperation agreement onboard , whilst in port at Odessa, Ukraine. Under the terms of the agreement, the United Kingdom will sell two refurbished Sandown-class minehunters to Ukraine and produce eight small missile warships for the country. The United Kingdom will also construct a new naval base on the Black Sea as the primary fleet base for the

Ukrainian Navy The Military Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Військо́во-морські́ си́ли Збро́йних сил Украї́ни, ВМС ЗСУ) is the maritime forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Arme ...

and a base on the Sea of Azov. The agreement also provided for the sale of

missiles In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...

to Ukraine, and for training and support for these.

HMS ''Defender''

On 23 June 2021, the United Kingdom's HMS ''Defender'' undertook a

freedom of navigation Freedom of navigation (FON) is a principle of law of the sea that ships flying the flag of any sovereign state shall not suffer interference from other states, apart from the exceptions provided for in international law. In the realm of internat ...

patrol through the disputed waters around the

Crimean Peninsula Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...

. In an account partially contradicted by the UK government, the

Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО, МО РФ or Minoboron) is the govern ...

and border guards said they fired

warning shots In military and police contexts, a warning shot is an intentionally harmless artillery shot or gunshot with intent to enact direct compliance and order to a hostile perpetrator or enemy forces. It is recognized as signalling intended confronta ...

from coast guard patrol ships and dropped bombs from a

Sukhoi Su-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 ( NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, all-weather attack aircraft developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, twin-engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for its crew of two. It wa ...

attack aircraft in the path of ''Defender'' after, according to the

Russian Defence Ministry The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО, МО РФ or Minoboron) is the govern ...

, it had allegedly strayed for about 20 minutes as far as 3 km (2 miles) into waters off the coast of

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

, which Russia annexed in 2014 in a move mostly unrecognised internationally. The UK military denied any warning shots were fired and said the ship was in

innocent passage Innocent passage is a concept in the law of the sea that allows for a vessel to pass through the archipelagic and territorial waters of another state, subject to certain restrictions. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Article 19 ...

in Ukraine's

territorial sea The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...

, later clarifying that heavy guns were fired three miles astern and could not be considered to be warning shots. BBC defence correspondent

Jonathan Beale Jonathan Beale is a BBC News reporter. Before joining the BBC in 1999 Beale had been an assistant to a Member of Parliament. Beale spent two years as the BBC's Brussels correspondent. He served in Washington DC covering the 2006 midterm electio ...

on board the vessel confirmed that the ship went to action stations prior to the transit; the crew put on

flash protection Anti-flash gear, also known simply as flash gear, is basic personal protective equipment consisting of a fire-resistant hood and fire-resistant gloves, often made of Nomex. The purpose of anti-flash gear is to provide protection to the head, n ...

in case of live fire; they were warned on the radio that the Russians would fire, and heard some firing in the distance. The

Russian Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО, МО РФ or Minoboron) is the govern ...

and the Russian Coastguard released two videos, one of them allegedly taken from a Russian fighter and the other from a patrol boat, showing that shots were actually fired near HMS ''Defender''. This would be the first time that Russian forces had fired on a British warship since 1919. HMS ''Defender'' arrived in Batumi on 26 June. On 27 June, secret documents relating to the passage of HMS ''Defender'' through Ukraine's territorial waters were discovered at a bus stop in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. These documents revealed that the Royal Navy considered different hypothetical reactions from Russia in response to the ship's passage and was prepared for the possibility that Russia may respond in an aggressive manner. The senior civil servant who lost the files had his security clearance suspended. He had been due to become a United Kingdom ambassador to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

HNLMS ''Evertsen''

From 15:30 to 20:30 on 24 June, the

Russian Air Force " Air March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 12 August , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , bat ...

conducted a series of "mock attacks" on the Dutch frigate that had been patrolling in the Black Sea with HMS ''Defender''. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson

Maria Zakharova Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova (russian: Мария Владимировна Захарова; born 24 December 1975) is the Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (Spokesw ...

accused the frigate of "dangerous manoeuvring" that was a "deliberate provocation". In response, the British Ministry of Defence stated that "freedom of navigation is a fundamental right exercised by all nations".

Aftermath

British Prime Minister

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

defended the decision to conduct the patrol as "entirely right". Deputy Russian Foreign Minister

Sergei Ryabkov Sergei Alexeyevich Ryabkov (russian: Сергей Алексеевич Рябков) (born 8 July 1960) is a Russian politician, currently serving as the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation since 2008. Early life and education Rya ...

warned that Russia would drop bombs "not only in its path, but also on target" if British vessels were involved in future incidents. Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

accused the United Kingdom of "deliberate provocation" and stated that the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

sent a plane to monitor the Russian response.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

BBC journalist reports from British warship as Russia "fires warning shots"
from

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Russia releases video allegedly showing HMS Defender from Russian aircraft
from ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' on

Boris Johnson says HMS Defender’s deployment ‘wholly appropriate’
from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...