Moscow summons UK diplomat over maritime security statements

Danae Dholakia, the United Kingdom’s chargé d’affaires in Moscow, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, reportedly in connection with London’s statements that it plans to detain Russian commercial vessels in its territorial waters, according to Russian media.

On March 26, the Russian embassy stated that London’s intention to detain Russian commercial vessels in its territorial waters is a deeply hostile step. The embassy called the UK’s statements about targeting Russian merchant ships “reckless.”

The same day, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorised military forces to detain vessels under sanctions.

Meanwhile, in mid-March, tensions escalated as Russia’s Foreign Ministry protested to UK Ambassador Nigel Casey over a Ukrainian strike on Bryansk on March 10, using Storm Shadow missiles produced by the Franco-British MBDA consortium.

Earlier, ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned that the deployment of British troops to Ukraine would not end the conflict but prolong it and increase the risk of a large-scale military confrontation involving more countries. She added that, in the event of a foreign military intervention in Ukraine, foreign troop contingents would become legitimate military targets for Russia.

By Jeyhun Aghazada