Moment Russian warships sail for English Channel with Putin poised to test bombs off British coast – as Royal Navy scrambles to intercept
Admirals and their Nato allies are drawing up plans to escort up to eight Russian warships
A FLEET of Russian warships has set sail for the English Channel with Vladimir Putin poised to test bombs off the British coast, putting the Royal Navy on red alert.
British warships are being scrambled to intercept the fleet which will pass within one mile of the British coast on its way to Syria.
Russia's flagship aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov was amongst the ships to depart from Severomorsk today.
The fleet is heading for the Mediterranean Sea where Moscow's naval forces are supporting its bombing campaign in Syria, the defence ministry said.
The move has been revealed just days after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called for demonstrations to be held outside the Russian embassy as he again condemned the country's bombing campaign.
Commentators have suggested it is a bold display of strength by the Kremlin as tensions between Russia and the West grow.
Admirals and their Nato allies are drawing up plans to intercept the Russian warships, has reported.
The 55,000 tonne Admiral Kuznetsov is travelling with the Pyotr Veliky battlecruiser, the Vice-Admiral Kulakov destroyer and large anti-submarine ships.
In addition to safeguarding maritime navigation, the ships are meant to "respond to new types of modern threats like piracy and international terrorism,".
The fleet will reportedly carry out drills north of Scotland before sailing just a mile off the English coast.
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A Nato naval source told the Telegraph: “It’s not catching us by surprise, we are working up what to do and we are all over it. The most likely thing is that they will go through the North Sea, down the Dover Strait and through the Channel.
“They might even stop off the North East coast to fly for a bit.”
A Nato source said the vessels could pass Britain as early as next week.
Lord West of Spithead, a former First Sea Lord said Russia's posturing risked inflaming tensions.
He told the Telegraph: "When people start posturing, things become dangerous. It all raises tensions and makes things more difficult and that’s not a clever thing to do.
“I find Russia very worrying at the moment. Their economy is on a war footing.”
Mr Johnson has claimed Russia could be guilty of war crimes in Syria after an aid convoy was hit during air strikes.
He said: “A war crime is defined as when you attack something, attack a civilian target in the knowledge that it is a civilian target.
“Now Putin’s regime is not only as it were handing Assad the revolver. He is in some instances actually firing the revolver himself.
“The Russians themselves are actually engaged.”
Sir John urged caution on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
He said: "We all have to be a little bit careful and mindful of the security of our embassy in Moscow when we think about calling for demonstrations here in London.
"We all recall what happened to our embassy in Tehran three or four years ago. I don't think that would happen in Moscow but we need to be careful about the consequences of things that we call for."
And he went on to describe the "dangerous" situation Britain finds itself in following Russia's increasingly-aggressive behaviour.
In September patrol ship HMS Tyne was called on twice in a month to escort Russian warships through the channel.
Russia's relations with the west are rapidly deteriorating and Putin sent a ship loaded with an Iskander-M missile system to Kaliningrad, a small Russian enclave located between Poland and Lithuania, in a bid to boost his sphere of military influence.
In July Putin's spy planes were flying strategic missions over the UK - but the Ministry of Defence did not object due to the "open skies" treaty.
In its own display of strength The Sun sent an armada out to meet the vessel, complete with a lookalike of Three Lions striker Jamie Vardy dressed as Lord Nelson.
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