Two Russian naval ships are operating 30 miles off the British coast, escorting sanctioned tankers through the Channel and risking both environmental disaster and armed conflict with Moscow.

A Kremlin supply ship is helping keep a Russian warship, armed with cruise and surface-to-air missiles, at sea – allowing it to escort dozens of sanctioned tankers accused of facilitating Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

The vessels have worked in tandem and have been regular visitors to British shores, finding refuge near critical UK infrastructure under the full view of the British Royal Navy.

A hulking 122-metre floating workshop that serves Putin’s Baltic fleet, has been supplying a Russian frigate, the RFN Admiral Grigorovich, with supplies and fuel while it loiters around the Galloper wind farm, located off the Suffolk coastline, which powers 400,000 UK homes.

The manoeuvres, which sometimes enter UK waters, have allowed the Admiral Grigorovich, an armed warship, to accompany over a dozen so-called shadow fleet tankers through the English Channel, according to data provided by Starboard Maritime Intelligence.

The movements mark a major development, bringing Russia’s shadow fleet operations further into the open and highlighting Putin’s brazen attempt to call Starmer’s bluff – with the risk of armed conflict in full view. The refuelling manoeuvers also increase the risk of a catastrophic oil spill should anything go wrong.

Elizabeth Braw, a naval expert at the Atlantic Council, said the “risky” movements show Russia is probing Downing Street’s resolve, creating a “double headache” for the UK.

“Ship to ship transfers are risky and you have to be incredibly careful as accidents can happen,” she told The i Paper. “They may well need to transfer oil, but its clearly also a signal to the UK authorities they can do it, even with inherent risk of oil spills and there’s not much the UK can do about it.”

By conducting these operations so close to the UK, Braw said, the Russian state is “deliberately telling Europe” that detaining a vessel is not just a law enforcement or environmental issue. In her view, an armed warship escorting these vessels means any such action “may also lead to an armed conflict”.

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