Royal Navy hero Admiral Lord West blasts Putin as pics emerge of Russian fleet carrying out training missions in the North Sea
A ROYAL Navy hero has dismissed Russia's sabre-rattling naval moves in the North Sea as "a bit of willy waving".
Former head of the navy Admiral Lord West added that he thinks British sailors are doing a good job of monitoring the threat posed by Vladimir Putin's ships.
He told The Sun: "It's Putin doing a bit of a willy waving in a sense, saying this is what I can do. It's to show that he can do what the West can do.
And despite budget cuts, he is pleased the Royal Navy is still a force to be reckoned with.
Lord West continued: "I'm glad we've actually got a couple of ships meeting them through our seas.
"We've almost got to the stage when we can't do that, and that would be a terrible message to send to Putin.
"I think there's been times over the last year or so when that has occurred. But I'm delighted that we're able to send two ships out to meet them."
Ministry of Defence chiefs earlier confirmed that its ships will "man-mark" the menacing Russian fleet as it prepares a pincer move on the English Channel.
They are then believed to be moving into the Mediterranean Sea to support Russia's war in Syria.
Lord West added: "I don't believe they need those ships to add to the firepower they've got in Aleppo.
"Admiral Kuznetsov (the aircraft carrier) is an immense nuclear power cruiser with a huge number of attack missiles - I've been on it.
"He's just showing that Russia is there on the world stage."
Eight Russian vessels led by a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier are heading down the North Sea towards the English Channel.
There they are expected to link up with two more ships, meaning TEN heavily-armed Russian ships will be operating just miles from the British coast.
The Russian Northern Fleet is being stalked by two British warships, while two corvettes heading to Britain through the Bay of Biscay are being tracked by HMS Dragon.
Ministry of Defence chiefs are taking no chances and have pledged to keep the flotilla well within their sights.
A spokesman said: "When these ships are near our waters we will man-mark them every step of the way.
"We will be watching as part of our steadfast commitment to keep Britain safe."
They added: "It is pretty unambiguous that they have set a course to pass through the Dover Strait."
Dramatic images released yesterday showed our boys monitoring Vladimir Putin's fleet off the Orkney Islands as they practised bombing sorties.
Just hours earlier Russian media had mocked the 'tiny' British fleet.
The giant Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier was operating its Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets near the Orkney Islands as it prepares to steam down the English Channel.
The 300 metre-long Kuznetsov billowed smoke in the background as a Brit sailor observed from HMS Richmond just a few hundred metres away.
Putin's navy is understood to have carried out the drills to prepare their pilots for combat missions in Syria.
The eight hi-tech ships will sail to the war-torn nation's Mediterranean coast, with the fleet passing through the North Sea and English Channel in the coming days.
First, it was expected to stop off in the shelter of the Moray Firth to re-fuel.
Yesterday, Russian broadcasters brazenly predicted iron man Putin is ready to "seize control" of the Mediterranean Sea.
A top Moscow military expert then mocked the 'tiny' Royal Navy, which has been tasked with tracking the threat.
Britain has been without an aircraft carrier since HMS Illustrious was scrapped in 2014 but will be commissioning the £3.1bn HMS Queen Elizabeth in May 2017. The hi-tech carrier is 280m long and weighs over 70,000 tonnes, eclipsing the 43,000 tonne Kuznetsov.
The sabre-rattling move is Putin's latest show of strength as he continues to prop up Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad against American wishes.
And insiders in Moscow's military circles say it marks a first step towards Russia asserting its dominance in the Mediterranean.
Defence expert for Russian news agency RIA, Alexander Khrolenko, said: "While the North Atlantic bloc is stalling in the sands of the Middle East, the Russian Navy seizes control over the Atlantic, not to mention the Mediterranean and Black Seas."
"The pilots need to be certified for carrier take-offs and landings at day and night before it takes up station in the Mediterranean.
"They are free to do this in international waters, but once they are in the English Channel, the aircraft will be grounded."
Images emerged yesterday of the ships sailing past the Norwegian city of Trondheim towards the North Sea, where they are expected to pick up an escort from the Royal Navy.
The frigate HMS Richmond and destroyer HMS Duncan will likely shadow the Russian fleet to the Straits of Gibraltar.
But dismissive Khrolenko poured scorn on "what little remains of the Royal Navy".
Speaking about the approach of the ships, a Nato naval source told : “It’s not catching us by surprise, we are working up what to do and we are all over it.
"The most likely thing is that they will go through the North Sea, down the Dover Strait and through the Channel.
“They might even stop off the North East coast to fly for a bit.”
The show of strength is the latest act of defiance from Moscow in the face of Western pressure over its bombing campaign in Syria.
Earlier this month Russia bombers went on a run around Western Europe, forcing the air forces of four Nato members to scramble their fighter jets.
President Vladimir Putin has been supporting embattled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad with air strikes.
The bombing of an aid convoy last month saw a fragile ceasefire disintegrate and put even greater strain on relations between the US and Moscow.
Neighbour Turkey warned yesterday that Syria could become a proxy war for the two superpowers as they pile weapons and advisers into the Middle East.
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