"The Royal Navy and NATO allies have escorted nine Russian Navy warships during heightened levels of activity in the waters close to the UK", the press release read, specifying the movement route as being across the North Sea southward toward the English Channel.
The Russian warships included three Steregushchiy-class corvettes, three Ropucha-class landing ships and three missile-armed patrol boats, according to the press release.
They were escorted by a fleet including the UK's HMS Mersey and HMS Tyne offshore patrol vessels and Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster as well as the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1, which includes vessels belonging to Portugal, Canada, Germany, Norway and Denmark, as stated in the press release.
The shadowing of Russian vessels by the UK navy during their passage via the North Sea and the English Channel is a regular occurrence.
The last such episode took place in June as Westminster and Tyne escorted Russian warship Vice Admiral Kulakov as it transited through the English Channel, again in a "safe and professional manner". The monitoring was conducted with the use of the radar, surveillance cameras and sensors.
