Patrol ship HMS Tyne called on twice in a month to escort Russian warships through the Channel
Sightings come as experts say the world is closer to a bloody World War III than at any other point in the past 60 years
A RUSSIAN warship has been spotted skirting around the British coast as experts say the world is closer to World War III than at any other point in decades.
Russia and China have both been pumping vast amounts of money into their military might and Vladimir Putin is keener than ever to flex his muscles on the world stage.
The Russian Ropucha-class Landing Ship Tank Minsk was spotted by HMS Tyne which tracked the vessel's progress up the Channel through the Strait of Dover and into the North Sea.
It's the SECOND time the patrol ship has been called on this month to escort Russian warships through our waters.
The Portsmouth-based warship monitored the progress of military transporters Minsk and earlier the Alexander Shabalin both for more than 500 miles each as the vessel passed the British Isles.
The Russian vessels are both Ropucha-class landing ships, used to move military equipment from Russia's northern ports to its bases in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
Minsk was on her way back to northern European waters and Tyne was on a fishery protection patrol of the North Sea when she was alerted to the Russian vessel approaching the UK.
Then her bridge team used sophisticated navigation software and radars to successfully locate the Minsk before following its progress through one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and back into the North Sea.
Russia, China and the US all want to remain a global superpower – if not the only one – and are preparing for war, it was claimed earlier this week.
But they oppose each other on a swathe of issues across the globe, creating a delicate political balance that could collapse and engulf nuclear states and alliances such as NATO.
The proximity of NATO and Russian bombers flying over Syria, Vladimir Putin’s aggression in eastern Europe, and China’s movements in the South China Sea are all seen as flashpoints.
Experts have also raised concerns about the instability of nuclear-power Pakistan as extremist factions and terrorist groups within the country grow in power.