Navy monitors four Russian ships in the Moray Firth

A Royal Navy warship monitored four Russian ships, including a destroyer, as they sheltered from rough weather off the coast of Scotland.

Patrol ship HMS Tyne shadowed two warships and an intelligence-gathering vessel as they carried out replenishment operations with their supporting tanker.

The Russian Navy ships sailed into the Moray Firth to shelter from rough weather this week as they travelled through the North Sea close to UK territorial waters.

The group of Russian ships included the Udaloy-class destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov, Vishnya-class intelligence-gathering ship Viktor Leonov, Steregushchy-class frigate Steregushchy and the tanker Akademik Pashin.

HMS Tyne, a patrol vessel, observed the ships as they refuelled ahead of continuing with their journey.

HMS Tyne executive officer Lieutenant Nick Ward said: “HMS Tyne routinely shadows Russian warships transiting in and around the UK’s waters.

“This operation, like many others, again demonstrates that the Royal Navy stands ready to protect the UK’s sovereignty every day of the year, in any weather.”

The role of Portsmouth-based HMS Tyne falls under Defence Task One – protecting the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom.

The latest incident comes after a separate operation in the area a few weeks ago when HMS Tyne monitored two other Russian ships which were sheltering from bad weather.

The Royal Navy vessel kept close watch on Viktor Leonov, an intelligence-gathering ship, and her supporting tanker Sergey Osipov, which sailed into the Moray Firth to shelter from Storm Aiden when it hit the country on October 31.