Vladimir Putin says the HMS Defender was intentionally a sitting duck. It was premeditated to test Russian reaction to the breach of annexed Crimean waters. The US was involved too with its AWACS operating with the Royal Navy ship while in transit.
Recently, the Black Sea is where the Russian forces and NATO have been projecting force drills and presence in the area.
Putin stated that the vessel intruded in territorial waters. Sinking it would have been without question. Furthermore, he cites the ever-increasing tension with the west that they will not wage war because there is no guarantee they will win, the Daily Mail.
US helping Britain and another ship involved
Last Wednesday, the Kremlin leader said that the US had deployed recon craft that had constant contact with the Defender while sailing in the Black Sea. It was a probe to see how Russian forces will react if provoked.
It was not just the HMS Defender that was involved in the illegal transit. Another ship from the Royal Netherlands Navy, the De Zeven Provincien class frigate HNLMS Evertsen was buzzed and harassed by Russian planes on Thursday.
To force the British and Dutch frigate out of the contested waters, Moscow reveals that ships fired warning shots, and bombs were dropped on June 23. Crimea according to the Kremlin belongs to Russia, so it was justified in its response.
Although Britain downplayed the incident claiming that their ship was in Ukraine waters. Vladimir Putin says the HMS Defender was intentionally a sitting duck and Britain denied it.
During a live call-in show done yearly, when Putin talked to Russians on vital issues that affect the nation, he stressed that the HMS Defender was cannon fodder and will not cause another great war. He said that the US and allies are afraid.
More details
According to the Dutch navy, their frigate and fighter jets were engaged last Thursday on June 24, the same date on which the Russians said they dropped bombs to force the HMS Defender out of Crimean waters.
One statement from the Royal Netherlands Navy reported that the Evertsen had been tailed and harassed from 3:30 pm to 8:30 pm at local time, noted Eurasian Times.
Accounts say that the Dutch frigate was buzzed to get close by Russian jets and intimidate the crew. Planes had bombs and surface-to-air missiles that can be fired from the air. After the attempts to scare them off, their sensors and radar were jammed by the Black fleet.
The Evertsen and Defender are part of the HMS Queen Elizabeth multinational strike group called Carrier Strike Group 21, or CSG21.
Frigate Evertsen's weapons
The Dutch warship is has a Mk.41 vertical launch missile system (VLS) with 40-silos, 32 surfaces to the air, 32 Sea Sparrow, and 8- Harpoon ship killer, with dual MK32 Mod Torpedo tube armed with Raytheon Mk46 torpedoes, as its missile systems. Onboard are the 127-mm gun, 12.7 and 7.62 caliber machine guns as anti-personnel weapons.
Putin was serious about NATO's provocation, and said they will not allow the US to know the secret information. He added that Biden is allegedly complicit in the encounter, and asked why the US and Britain invaded Crimean territory to provoke. He added that all sovereignty will be defended by Russia, cited Euro News.
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