Russian ships bristling with guns shadowed by Royal Navy in English Channel and North Sea

Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset (rear) follows Russian corvette Boikiy - (Royal Navy)

A Royal Navy helicopter, patrol planes and HMS Somerset tracked Russian ships bristling with guns sailing through the English Channel and North Sea.

The UK carried out a three-day operation monitoring the Russian task group in UK waters.

HMS Somerset kept a close eye on Russian corvette Boikiy which was escorting merchant vessel Baltic Leader, on a journey from Syria, as it went through the English Channel and North Sea.

Machine guns and armed men in military uniforms could be seen on the Baltic Leader which is believed to have come from the Port of Tartus on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

Tartus has been a Russian naval base under the regime of tyrant Bashar al-Assad but since he was toppled last year, and fled to Moscow, Syria’s new leadership is reported to have ended a long-term lease for Putin’s navy to remain at the base.

Sanctioned Russian vessels are believed to have been removing military equipment from the naval base in recent weeks and the suspicion is that the Baltic Leader is part of this operation.

Somerset, a Type 23 frigate, launched her Merlin helicopter from 814 Naval Air Squadron, and used her hi-tech sensor and radars to track the Russian vessels in the Channel and North Sea.

British patrol planes, working with Nato allies, also flew overhead.

Commander Joel Roberts, Commanding Officer of HMS Somerset, said: “Somerset is well versed in the escort of Russian ships, having conducted these operations on a number of occasions.

“Great professionalism has been shown by the ship’s company to remain vigilant whilst operating in UK waters and integrating with our NATO Allies to monitor Russian activity around Europe.”

Just two weeks ago, HMS Iron Duke, HMS Tyne and RFA Tideforce monitored five ships, including three merchant vessels, as they sailed for a Russian Baltic port from Syria.

HMS Somerset pictured in the Channel during the 3-day operation monitoring a Russian task group passing the UK (Royal Navy)

Somerset started shadowing Boikiy on March 1, as the ship headed south through the North Sea and English Channel to meet Baltic Leader to escort the vessel, which came from Syria, back to Russia.

The Plymouth-based warship kept up the monitoring for the return journey as Boikiy and Baltic Leader met around Ushant, near France, before sailing through the Channel and into the North Sea, according to the Ministry of Defence.

It’s the second time this year Somerset has tracked Russian ships.

The frigate shadowed the suspected spy vessel, Yantar, alongside patrol ship HMS Tyne, in January.

Defence Secretary John Healey has also told how he ordered a Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine to surface near the Yantar, when it was in British waters loitering over underwater infrastructure last autumn.

Russia has been warned that Royal Marines commandos may raid ships suspected of seeking to cut underwater cables in UK waters.

Vessels suspected to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” have been accused of severing underwater cables in the Baltic Sea.

Vladimir Putin has resorted increasingly to “grey warfare” such as the actions of his “shadow fleet” or attempted assassinations in Britain and other countries, including the bid to poison former double agent Sergei Skripal with Novichok in Salisbury in March 2018.