UK denies Russia fired warning shots at British warship near Crimea

UK denies claims that Russian warship and fighter jet fired warning shots at British warship near Crimea.

Britain has denied claims from Russia’s military that a Russian patrol ship and fighter jet fired warning shots at a British navy warship as it sailed through waters near Crimea on Wednesday. The unusual dispute began when Russia’s defense ministry accused the British destroyer HMS Defender of straying into Russian waters in the Black Sea on Wednesday morning. The ministry asserted that after the British ship ignored calls to turn around, a Russian coast guard vessel fired warning shots and a Su-24m jet dropped four bombs in the waters ahead of the British warship. But Britain’s Ministry of Defense has denied that any warning shots were fired and instead suggested that Russia was misrepresenting the incident. "No shots were directed at HMS Defender and we do not recognize the claim that bombs were dropped in her path," the ministry wrote on Twitter.