Russia Denounces Bellicose Intentions From the US and UK

On Friday, Russia's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Ryabkov called the actions of the British destroyer HMS Defender, which violated the Russian border in the Black Sea on June 26, a provocation.

RELATED:

Russia Pledges Aid to Latam Countries in the Face of Threats

He accused the U.S. and U.K. of misrepresenting what happened despite the fact that there are recordings of conversations between the Russian coast guard and the command of the British ship.

"The video completely closes the plot with malicious attempts on the part of high-ranking London officials and some representatives of the U.S. government," Ryabkov said, adding that the ultimate cause of the incident is the fact that Washington and London do not want to recognize the reality, i.e. they do not want to recognize that the Crimean peninsula is part of Russia.

"The inviolability of Russia's borders is an absolute imperative," he stressed and mentioned that his country's territory will be protected "by all diplomatic, political, and, if necessary, military means."

In a similar vein, the Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov warned that Russia will not exclude any options to protect its borders from future provocations.

On Thursday, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson denied the seriousness of the matter arguing that the destroyer's actions in the Black Sea waters proceeded according to international law.

Appreciated from a historical perspective, however, the incident was not minor. For the first time since the end of the Cold War in 1991, Russia was forced to use live ammunition to deter a NATO warship from entering its territory.