Armed with missiles, a Russian warship spotted near the French coast: London intervenes

On Saturday, the Royal Navy had to be mobilised: the Russian frigate Admiral Golovko was spotted very close to the French coast.

According to a statement from the British Navy, the frigate was sailing in the English Channel when a British warship, supported by a helicopter, escorted it off Plymouth, south-west England. Matt Teare, the commanding officer of the ship in charge of the intervention, stated: "HMS ["His Majesty’s Ship"] St Albans is at high readiness to operate at any time and wherever the nation needs us to protect our territory and surrounding waters. HMS St Albans is currently operating within a NATO task group and the consistency of Russian activity around the UK reinforces the vital importance of continued integration with our allies and partners."

When it was spotted, the Admiral Golovko was sailing towards the Severomorsk base, the main base of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy, after completing the naval exercise Friendship Bridge 2025 in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence. The Kremlin describes the ship as a multipurpose vessel armed with Zircon missiles.

(MH with Manon Pierre - Source: L’Indépendant - Illustration: ©Unsplash)