Russian warship is escorted out of the English Channel by Royal Navy heroes for the second time in just TWO WEEKS
Britain and Russia are in bitter dispute over Moscow's involvement in Syria
A RUSSIAN warship has been escorted by the Royal Navy through British waters at a time of heightened diplomatic tension between Moscow and London.
The frigate, Yaroslav Mudry, was encountered by Navy frigate HMS Sutherland at the entrance to the English Channel and then monitored as it sailed through UK waters.
It was the second time in less than two weeks that the 'HMS Sunderland' has been monitoring a Russian warship as it sailed through British waters, the Royal Navy said in their press release.
It comes at a time of diplomatic strife, with British ministers lining up to condemn Russia's support for Syrian president Bashar Assad as his regime's forces won a brutal victory in the four-year battle for Aleppo.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Thursday summoned Russian ambassador Alexander Yakovenko to the Foreign Office to tell him Moscow deserves no credit for the evacuation of civilians from the shattered Syrian city.
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Mr Johnson expressed "deep concern" at reports of civilians being executed, ambulances being shot at and "disappearances" carried out by pro-Assad forces in formerly rebel-held areas in east Aleppo.
The Yaroslav Mudry had recently been operating in the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean before sailing across to the Caribbean to visit Cuba and Trinidad.
HMS Sutherland and a Merlin helicopter joined French and Dutch warships in following the Mudry.
The Russian ship's progress will continue to be monitored by ships from other Nato nations as it passes through northern European waters.
In October, Navy vessels monitored Russian ships, including the smoke-belching Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, as they passed through the Dover Strait en route to a suspected bolstering of the bombing campaign in Aleppo.