A Royal Navy patrol ship has tracked a Russian warship and tanker as they transited the Dover Strait in recent weeks, the Ministry of Defence confirmed.

HMS Severn shadowed the corvette RFN Stoikiy and the tanker Yelnya as the pair sailed west into the English Channel. No incidents were reported, and monitoring duties were later handed over to a NATO partner off the coast of Brittany, with the UK vessel maintaining distant observation.

The sighting comes days after Defence Secretary John Healey disclosed that Russia’s Yantar—a vessel known for mapping undersea cables—had approached the edge of UK waters for the second time this year. RAF P-8 aircraft and a Royal Navy frigate were deployed to track the ship, prompting what Healey described as a “deeply dangerous” response when Russian crew members aimed lasers at British pilots.

The MoD says Russian ship movements near the UK have risen by 30 per cent over the past two years. Recent surveillance missions have included HMS Iron Duke shadowing the frigate RFN Neustrashimy and its accompanying freighter through the North Sea and Channel.

Addressing reporters, Healey warned Moscow: “We see you, we know what you’re doing, and if the Yantar travels south this week, we are ready.” He framed the growing tempo of Russian activity—alongside the brief Iran–Israel conflict, Chinese espionage concerns in Parliament, and increased drone sightings over Europe—as evidence the UK has entered “a new era of threat.”

Defence analysts have similarly cautioned that Britain risks complacency. Earlier this year, experts warned the country was “sleepwalking into a bloody ambush,” arguing that the UK must regain a “war mentality” and commit to long-term defence investment. While some welcomed the government’s focus on resilience and public awareness, others argued that hesitation over defence spending targets only emboldens adversaries. Photo by Alex 'Florstein' Fedorov, Wikimedia commons.