Provocations like British Warships Demand Strong Russian Response

MOSCOW – Enter warship Britain to what Moscow considers territorial waters Russia near Crimea last month was the kind of provocation that demanded a strong response. The Kremlin said this on Sunday.

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia, firing warning shots and dropping bombs in the path of the British warship HMS Defender to drive it out of the Black Sea waters off the coast of Crimea, could have sunk the warship.

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Moscow opposes HMS Defender’s right to pass through waters near Crimea, something London says it has the right to do. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 but much of the world still recognizes it as part of Ukraine.

“The incident was a well-planned provocation and that Putin’s reaction has made it clear that any repetition will trigger a response,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“It is clear that the reaction will of course be difficult,” Peskov was quoted as saying Reuters, Monday (5/7/2021).

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