A Russian naval frigate fired warning shots at a British-flagged yacht in the English Channel on Tuesday morning, after the civilian vessel drifted toward the warship in what appeared to be an unintended close encounter.According to Telegraph, the incident took place at around 11:40 a.m., approximately 20 nautical miles (about 37 km) south of the Isle of Wight. The British coastguard received reports from the yacht intended for personal use, after it drifted too close to the Admiral Grigorovich, a Russian Black Sea Fleet guided-missile frigate.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.According to Telegraph’s sources, the Russian ship issued several warnings to the yacht not to approach, before ultimately opening fire. No injuries or damage were reported, and the civilian vessel continued its journey through the Channel.Two Royal Navy River-class patrol vessels, HMS Mersey and HMS Tyne, had been secretly following the Grigorovich through the Channel since Monday, before the warning shots were fired on Tuesday. A sea boat from HMS Tyne visited the yacht to check on the civilians on board and to collect details from the incident, with the Ministry of Defence spokesman confirming the military was “investigating reports of an incident in the Channel.” Telegraph’s military sources said the shooting was not connected to a separate British operation against a Russian tanker Smyrtos, two days earlier.Months of defiance in British watersReportedly, the Grigorovich has been operating near British waters since April, escorting more than a dozen sanctioned Russian shadow tankers through the Channel. Previously, the vessel was found loitering near the Galloper wind farm off the Suffolk coast – a development that has triggered a NATO monitoring mission.