RUSSIA has made a U-turn on their stance over Wednesday's Black Sea face off after claiming that they “were so polite" before firing on the Royal Navy vessel.
HMS Defender was off Crimea in international waters when the 8,500-ton ship - armed to the teeth with hi-tech weapons systems - was approached by a small vessel.
According to initial British reports, a Russian sailor shouted "if you don't change course I'll fire" at the massive UK vessel.
The Russian boat then reportedly opened fire twice - once at 12.06pm and again at 12.08pm - before fighter planes were ordered in.
Jonathan Beale, the BBC's defence correspondent, was on board the HMS Defender when the shots were reportedly fired.
"We did hear some firing in the distance but they were believed to be well out of range," he said.
However, following Russian footage of the incident yesterday, Russia has claimed that they were "very polite" in their approach to the British warship.
This allegedly included saying "please six times" before firing “warning shots” at the Royal Navy’s HMS Defender.
In the clip Royal Navy warship repeatedly states it is on an established sea route in international waters as their Russian counterparts engage.
One such call stated: “Delta 36, I am Russian coastguard, please change your course. Keep clear. Keep away from the border line, change your course. Your course leads to territorial waters. Do you read me over?”
Another call followed: “In this area the innocent passage is out of short time for warships and other government vessels of foreign state.
"Please, change your course, please change your course to starboard."
A command in Russian is then given to shoot – along with the instruction to miss.
“Fire warning shots! Fire warning shots! Over
“Along the course of Defender. Along the course of Defender.
“No hitting it, no hitting Defender, did you get me? Over”
Three shots each with two shells are fired as warnings by which time the warship is visible but at a long distance away.
As the clip was released, Russian TV chief Margarita Simonyan emphasised the manner in which the coastguard made the request.
"Have you counted how many times ours said ‘please,’ he said.
“Polite people, aren’t they?”
His comments come in stark contrast to news that filtered through on Wednesday when Russia said it shot at the boat, and dropped four bombs from an Su-24M as warnings.
The incident unfolded just a few minutes before noon when according to Putin's defence ministry, the Royal Navy ship crossed Russia's maritime border near Cape Fiolent.
A day later, Russia vowed to sink British warships if they sailed too close to the Crimea again - citing HMS Defender's journey as an "deliberate provocation."
The 8,500-ton ship had been placed on red alert on Wednesday when, according to Putin's defence ministry, the Royal Navy ship crossed Russia's maritime border near Cape Fiolent.
The Navy remained undeterred despite being buzzed by 20 Russian jets and chased by two armed coastguard vessels where crews opened fire – dropping four bombs from aircraft above.
Foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov warned that Moscow would not tolerate another alleged breach of their waters.
He said: “We can appeal to common sense, demand respect for international law.
“If this does not help, we can bomb not only in the direction but also on target, if our colleagues do not understand.
“I warn everyone violating the state borders of the Russian Federation under the slogan of free navigation, from such provocative steps, because the security of our country comes first.”
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson denied that the bombs were dropped in the path of the British warship and that the shots were directed at it.
The confusion around the incident even prompted accusations from former Chief of Defence Intelligence Lord West that Vladimir Putin was "playing to the home audience," adding this behaviour was "apalling."
"The bottom line is Putin is an expert at disinformation and his actions are very reckless, and we've seen that now for three or four years," he told LBC.
"There's no doubt the (HMS) Defender was asserting her right of innocent passage from one port to another.
"Putin wants to play to his home audience, he wants to tell them 'aren't I tough, look at that, I've made Britain go away', and that's why I think they lied about firing warning shots at the defender - which they didn't do.
"As per usual, I'm afraid, Putin's organisation is lying about that."
Meanwhile, Russian media backed up the minister’s claims, dismissing the report the BBC's reporting of the incident.
The British version was a “falsehood”, said Channel One, while Gazprom-owned NTV said: “In Russia, these statements are regarded as yet another lie, which gives reason to believe that such incidents are deliberately provoked by the West in order to find more reasons to put pressure on (Moscow).”
Rossiya 1 reported: "The British military made a knowingly false statement that there had been no incident.”
Viewers were warned to expect more Western "provocations aimed at presenting Russia’s actions as aggressive”.
Presenter Igor Kozhevin told viewers: "The UK and NATO as a whole want to remind Russia that they do not recognise Crimea as Russian.
“We are aware of their opinions."
The latest dramatic incident comes as Ukraine is reportedly seeking to enter NATO in what would be a major blow to Putin.
Ukraine and Russia have been at odds ever since Moscow annexed Crimea from Kiev in a move that received international condemnation.
It has since allegedly been supporting rebel groups fighting in eastern Ukraine and has been accused of plotting further land grabs.
Ukraine will hope NATO membership means they can call on the full backing of the US and UK to see off Putin's bully-boy tactics.
Putin massed tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine earlier this year, sparking fears of an invasion.
What is happening between Russia and Ukraine?
RUSSIA and the Ukraine have remained technically at war since 2014.
The conflict was triggered by the Ukrainian Revolution - when an uprising overthrew the pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych.
Vladimir Putin's forces annexed the region of Crimea from Ukraine in a move which was widely condemned by the West.
The conflict then spiralled when pro-Russian groups in Eastern Ukraine then took up arms against the state.
Russia gave their backing the separatist forces which formed breakaway republics in Donetsk and Luhansk.
Putin's forces then launched a military incursion into these regions as they gave their support to the rebels.
Almost seven years have now passed and the War in Donbas remains at a stalemate.
Russia is sent as wanting to prevent Ukraine from cosying up to the West - and it has been accused of attempting to recapture territory lost at the fall of the Soviet Union.
Ukraine is now making overtures to join NATO, a move which would secure its own secure and also inflame tensions.
Some 100,000 troops were deployed by Russia to the border with Ukraine earlier this year amid fears the conflict could escalate into all out war between the two.
Tensions have since deescalated - but region remains a tinderbox where one wrong move could potentially spark a raging conflict that may draw in the West.
The issue was discussed by Putin and US President Joe Biden at their summit last week, but little progress is believed to have been made.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky estimates that more than 90,000 Russian troops remain along their borders and said tensions could still escalate.
Kiev has been battling pro-Russia separatists in the eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions since 2014, following the annexation.
The war has claimed more than 13,000 lives.
Speaking after his summit with Putin in Geneva, Biden described talks as "positive" - but divisions remain between the West and Russia.
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"The bottom line is I told President Putin that we need to have some basic rules of the road that we can all abide by," he said.
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The US would maintain an “unwavering commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine" he added, and said they would continue to seek a diplomatic answer based on the Minsk agreement peace deal.
In his own news conference, Putin defended his country’s actions in Ukraine and insisted they are simply following the Minsk deal - as Russia as always denied any aggressive intent towards its western neighbour.