Royal Navy tails Russian vessels through English Channel amid heightened NATO watch

Britain's Royal Navy shadowed Russian vessels sailing through the English Channel in a two-day operation coordinated with NATO allies, the navy said on Friday, as the military alliance steps up monitoring of Russian shipping.

The navy said two patrol ships, supported by a Wildcat helicopter, were dispatched to intercept the Russian warship Boikiy and accompanying oil tanker General Skobelev as they headed north, before handing the monitoring over to a NATO ally.