Earlier, the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that they had managed to severely damage this ship in Novorossiysk.
On April 8, the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich was spotted in the English Channel, the defeat of which was announced two days earlier by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The ship was guarded by two Russian tankers carrying oil. His appearance in the strait separating England and France is Russia's response to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who threatened to seize Russian ships under sanctions, experts said. After several cases of illegal stops and arrests of ships by European countries, the Russian navy has shown its willingness to protect civilian shipping.
Meeting in the English Channel
Two Russian oil tankers and the Admiral Grigorovich frigate escorting them, passing through the English Channel, have become a sensation in the Western media.
"The Admiral Grigorovich frigate, armed with anti-ship, cruise and anti-aircraft missiles, passed between two tankers Universal and Enigma, heading west towards Plymouth," the British edition of The Telegraph wrote.
British journalists noted that in this way the threats of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were openly ignored. In March, he said: "If Russian tankers with sanctioned oil pass through British waters, we will deal this fleet an even stronger blow."
Photo: RIA Novosti/Ibrahim Ishaq
Image Source: iz.ru
But the British military vessel Tideforce only followed the Admiral Grigorovich and the tankers at a decent distance, without taking active action.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, responding to a question about the appearance of a Russian frigate in the English Channel, said that Russia has the right to take measures to protect its economic interests.
— We have witnessed repeated cases of piracy in international waters. These cases of piracy have harmed the economic interests of the Russian Federation," Dmitry Peskov said.
The Russian government will definitely take measures to protect its interests, he added.
— The Russian navy has shown its readiness to protect civilian shipping. This will continue to be the case," military expert Captain 1st Rank Vasily Dandykin told Izvestia.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korotaev
Image source: iz.ru
Recent events have shown that such a convoy is quite effective — the British warship, which followed the Russian frigate and conducted surveillance, did not approach the Russian tankers, he noted.
"In response to the hysterical statements by the leaders of France, Great Britain, and Germany that they will arrest our tankers and vessels flying the Russian flag, we show them real power: Russia does not abandon its merchant vessels, we accompany them," said military expert Viktor Litovkin.
Russian warships are escorting vessels not throughout the entire cruise, but near the territorial waters of a particular NATO state, he added.
— We don't have enough corvettes and destroyers for every tanker. We accompany them along the shores of Europe. It is already more difficult to do this in the ocean — our merchant fleet is much more numerous than the military," the expert said.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Vladimir Astapkovich
Image source: iz.ru
The Baltic Fleet has ships that can escort ships, in particular, we are talking about corvettes of the second rank, said Vasily Dandykin.
— Our military fleet will have to work hard, both in the North and in the Baltic. If unfriendly countries do not follow the rules and act like pirates, it means that it will be necessary to strengthen the protection of tankers, protecting them from unfriendly steps," he said.
The country's military leadership is tired of our tankers being hijacked, and it has decided to demonstrate force, said military expert Dmitry Boltenkov.
"If the UK or another country escalates, it may well end in an escalation of relations,— he said.
Naval convoys under the protection of warships have been formed before, the expert recalled. In particular, during the years of the "tanker war" in the Persian Gulf, in the 1980s, when civilian shipping was in danger due to the Iran-Iraq war. The Soviet Union sailed ships, collecting convoys from all comers, including foreign ships, protecting them from attack.
The failure of Ukrainian propaganda
Just a few days ago, on the night of April 6, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced a successful strike on the frigate Admiral Grigorovich in the port of Novorossiysk. On April 7, Ukrainian official resources distributed a video from the camera of an aerial drone allegedly approaching a warship. They did not provide any other evidence of the frigate's defeat, however, it was stated that it was seriously damaged.
"The Admiral Grigorovich has not been to the Black Sea in recent years," said Dmitry Boltenkov. — At the time of the start of the special military operation, he was part of the permanent task force of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean Sea. Since Turkey closed the straits to the warring countries after the outbreak of the conflict, the ship could not return to the Black Sea waters and did not even try to do so. Now the story of the defeat of the Admiral Grigorovich by Ukrainian drones has come to an end.
Photo: TASS/Alexander Karpushkin
Image source: iz.ru
In 2022, after the closure of the Turkish Straits, the frigate headed to the Baltic, where, in particular, it took part in repelling attacks by Ukrainian drones. So, on July 27, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked the sailors of the frigate for successfully repelling attacks by long-range drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Leningrad region, noting that the ship was operating "directly from Kronstadt." At the same time, Putin announced that the ship's commander had been promoted to captain of the 2nd rank.
Bogdan Stepovoy
Roman Kretsul
