FROM RUSSIA WITH WARSHIPS
THE ROYAL NAVY IS INTERCEPTING INCREASING NUMBERS OF RUSSIAN SHIPS APPROACHING BRITISH WATERS
AN increasing number of Russian ships are approaching UK territorial waters - with Royal Navy ships being sent out to stop them. The figures - released by the Ministry of Defence under Freedom of Information laws - highlight the extent to which UK and Russia relations have deteriorated over the past decade.
They show the number of Royal Navy interceptions of Russian vessels has trended steeply upwards since 2010.
That year, British navy ships were only sent out once in response to a perceived Russian navy threat.
The figure increased to 12 occasions in 2013, and fell back to 11 during 2014 - even though Anglo-Russian relations were at a low point during the Ukrainian crisis.
The figure has risen since then reaching a peak of 33 interceptions in 2017.
The Royal Navy has acted a total of 129 times in response to Russian ships since 2010.
The number of days the RAF have had to deploy planes - known as Quick Response Aircraft (QRA) - in response to Russian military aircraft has remained fairly steady since the eight occasions recorded in 2010.
The figure reached a high of ten days in 2011, and a low of three days in 2017.
There was a total of five days where Quick Response Aircrafts were deployed last year (as of the end of October).
Anglo-Russian relations reached a new low last year following the nerveagent poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury.
A series of denials and accusations from the both governments followed the poisoning, which eventually resulted in diplomatic expulsions and international sanctions.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense said: “While many intercepts and escorts are triggered simply to keep watch of vessels close to UK shores, the Royal Navy is always standing ready to defend our waters 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
“We carefully shadow Russian ships transiting international waters in our neighbourhood. “We work with our allies to ensure we keep close track of their movements. “The vast majority of Russian Navy transits are expeditious. “But we ensure the Russian Navy does not exploit any opportunities for provocative actions.” The Russian Embassy was contacted for this article but did not respond in time for publication.