Russian ship fires warning shots at UK warship in Black Sea

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian warship fired warning shots Wednesday to force a British destroyer from Russia’s waters near Crimea in the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The ministry said the Russian warship fired warning shots after the British missile destroyer Defender had ignored a notice against intrusion in Russia’s territorial waters. It said that a Russian Su-24 bomber also dropped bombs ahead of the British ship to persuade it to change course.

Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, a move that wasn’t recognized by most countries in the world. Russia has frequently chafed at NATO warships visits to the Black Sea, casting them as destabilizing, even though NATO members Turkey, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria all are on the Black Sea.