Moment Putin warship opens fire off Plymouth as Royal Navy ups its campaign against the Russians menacing British waters

Newly released images show the Russian frigate Neustrashimy firing its guns during a live-fire exercise 40 miles off Plymouth on 20 July, prompting the Royal Navy to step up monitoring of Russian naval activity in UK waters. The drill took place a day after Andy Burnham became Prime Minister and is thought to have been intended as a signal to him, though it occurred in international waters and was pre-notified to the shadowing British patrol vessel. The incident is part of a wider pattern of Russian naval movements near Britain linked to escorting Moscow's "shadow fleet" oil tankers, which the Royal Navy says it is responding to with increased surveillance.

Neustrashimy was shadowed throughout by the offshore patrol vessel HMS Tyne, which moved to a five-nautical-mile distance after being warned of the gunnery exercise, while a French military aircraft and French naval assets also tracked the frigate. The roughly 30-minute exercise involved around 20 shots from the ship's 100mm gun and its 30mm battery. It followed a June incident in which Royal Marine Commandos boarded the Russian shadow fleet tanker Smyrtos off Dorset, the first such UK operation. The Royal Navy said its monitoring activity has risen 25% in the first seven months of 2026 compared with 2025, with vessels including HMS Tyne, HMS Somerset, HMS Mersey and HMS Severn, alongside Wildcat and Merlin helicopters, spending three weeks tracking Russian movements last month.