A shooting skirmish or a deadly collision between Russian and Western warships or aircraft in the Black Sea would almost certainly cause a serious crisis, evolving into a military confrontation, a regional armed conflict and, perhaps eventually, a global war. Such a doomsday scenario appeared to be quickly developing on June 23, 2021—but a far more prosaic reality soon emerged. Namely, the United Kingdom’s destroyer HMS Defender was sailing that day from the Ukrainian port of Odesa to Georgia, which, like Ukraine, aspires to membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). While rounding Russian-occupied Crimea’s Cape Fiolent, close to Sevastopol (the main Russian naval base in the region), HMS Defender cut a corner to enter and then quickly leave the 12-mile territorial zone around Crimea. Such an action is known as “innocent passage” under the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS). Of course, the main reason for the UK vessel’s chosen route was not just to shorten its voyage by several miles but also to put the Russian side on notice through a deliberate freedom of navigation operation. In response, two Federal Security Service (FSB) Border Guard patrol boats moved in to intercept the Defender as it entered the 12-mile zone, and one opened warning fire, according to Russian authorities and British correspondents aboard the UK destroyer. A Russian Su-24M jet bomber reportedly dropped four high-explosive 250-kilogram OFAB-250 fragmentation bombs; but aboard the Defender, this bomb attack was not noticed or registered. The UK vessel, traveling at over 30 knots, apparently outran the FSB patrol boats and left the 12-mile zone on the other side of Саре Fiolent. The incident reportedly lasted some 40 minutes and was over without any injuries or damage.
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(FILES) In this file photograph taken on June 5, 2019, HMS Defender prepares to take part in a sail past to honour D-Day veterans on board the Royal British Legion's ship MV Boudicca en route to Normandy, in the Solent off the coast of southern England, during an event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
