Jun 19, 2026 · 7 min · 9 segments
A Russian military vessel fired warning shots near a British couple as they sailed across the English channel. Why did it happen and does it matter? Host and writer: Madeleine Parr Producer: Katie…
Matt RussellGuestMadeleine ParrHostThey shouldn't really be firing when people are around.
It was unnecessary, completely unnecessary.
On Tuesday, a couple sailing off the coast of the Isle of Wight encountered a Russian warship, which fired shots near them.
We were sailing from Lymington to Cherbourg, left at 4:00 AM this morning, and as we were coming about halfway across the channel, we saw in the distance a vessel.
It wasn't showing on our AIS, so it didn't-- we couldn't identify it, and as we got closer, we saw that it was a warship, and as we got closer still, we saw it had Cyrillic lettering along the side.
Which means, "Have you seen us?"
We immediately turned two degrees to port so that they could see we'd made a deliberate change of course, which meant we had seen them.
And then a minute or so later, they gave another five blasts on their horn, immediately followed by four to five small arms fire that was- wasn't aimed at us.
It was a wa- warning fire that went up in the air, we believe.
They shouldn't really be firing when people are around.
It was unnecessary, completely unnecessary.
On Tuesday, a couple sailing off the coast of the Isle of Wight encountered a Russian warship, which fired shots near them.
We were sailing from Lymington to Cherbourg, left at 4:00 AM this morning, and as we were coming about halfway across the channel, we saw in the distance a vessel.
It wasn't showing on our AIS, so it didn't-- we couldn't identify it, and as we got closer, we saw that it was a warship, and as we got closer still, we saw it had Cyrillic lettering along the side.
Which means, "Have you seen us?"
We immediately turned two degrees to port so that they could see we'd made a deliberate change of course, which meant we had seen them.
And then a minute or so later, they gave another five blasts on their horn, immediately followed by four to five small arms fire that was- wasn't aimed at us.
It was a wa- warning fire that went up in the air, we believe.
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3 of 4
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7 of 25
Why are Russian warships in the English Channel?This Is Why
Gregory Copley addresses the crisis in the UK Ministry of Defense, marked by high-level resignations and budget cuts. He describes the Royal Marines' seizure of a Russian "shadow fleet" tanker and a Russian warship firing warning shots at a yacht. CopleyThe John Batchelor ShowThe rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
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