Royal Navy warships track Russian vessels in UK waters for 72 hours: Here’s why

The Royal Navy has reportedly carried out a three-day operation to track Russian naval vessels and shadow tankers in UK waters amid escalated Russian activity in the region.

Royal Navy warships and a helicopter spent three days tracking Russian Navy vessels, conducting a close monitoring operation in the North Sea and English Channel.

The first Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins said: “Since the successful operation, we have seen Russian shadow fleet vessels increasingly forced to change their routes, imposing significant cost and delays to their journeys."

The Royal Navy warships included a Type 45 destroyer, and a Type 23 frigate tracked the Russian destroyer Admiral Levchenko as it escorted General General Skobelev and Sparta south through the North Sea into the English Channel.

The recent operation comes after Royal Marine Commandos stopped and checked a vessel in transit in June. The National Crime Agency (NCA) officers seized the Smyrtos in a six-hour operation by UK armed forces.

Keeping in view an analysis by the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, oil and gas revenue as a proportion of the total Russian budget share has fluctuated mainly over the past 20 years.

Further, the institute highlighted that this decline was counterbalanced by a strong performance in alternative revenue streams.