Royal Navy submarine hunter and RAF stalk Russian warships near UK sailing through English Channel

ROYAL Navy submarine hunters and RAF patrol aircrafts have tracked several Russian warships in the waters close to the UK.

Two British ships and a jet scrambled to report on the movements of the Russian Navy in the English Channel, North Sea and North Atlantic.

Russia remains a pariah state over Putin's cruel and illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Britain continues to be one of the leading supporters of Kyiv as they attempt to fight back against Vlad.

And the Navy and RAF showed their strength when HMS Tyne, HMS Portland and P8 Poseidon worked together to monitor Russian vessels.

The Russian fleet included corvettes Boikiy and Grad, cruiser Marshal Ustinov, the Udaloy-class destroyer Severomorsk and others.

A navy spokesman said many of the Russian vessels were associated with the Russian Navy Day - which was held in St Petersburg on July 30.

He said: "With their collective array of powerful sensors for locating and tracking, the British submarine-hunting frigate and maritime patrol aircraft are a formidable duo for locating and monitoring operations, allowing for constant surveillance from the sea and air.

"Having detected a ship or submarine, the aircraft can communicate the position, allowing a warship to intercept and track."

Lieutenant Sam Charleston, one of HMS Portland’s bridge watchkeeping officers, said: “It was rewarding to conduct operations protecting UK waters and interests. The team worked hard in rough weather and difficult conditions.

“This is my third time conducting this type of operation and I enjoyed seeing the wide-area search capability that the P-8 brings and working with the RAF aircrew.”

HMS Portland visited Belfast following their mission in the North Atlantic.

It comes as a Russian general has called on Putin to use a “perfect” chance to fire nuclear weapons at Ukraine.

Pro-Kremlin MP and former general Andrey Gurulev suggested the dictator use the weapons to retaliate following Ukraine's wave of debilitating drone strikes deep inside of Russian territory.

After an 11-week period of intense fighting, Ukrainian troops recaptured the Ukrainian village of Robotyne, a major milestone on their journey to sever the land route between Crimea and Donetsk.

Gurulev, 55, was supported by leading Russian TV propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, 59, who suggested the village was the “perfect spot to use tactical nuclear weapons” after Kyiv's drone strikes.