'It was surreal': British couple describe having warning shots fired near them by Russian warship A retired British couple who were on a yacht which had warning shots fired near it by a Russian warship in the English Channel have told the BBC the experience was surreal. Jane and Alan Kelvey were sailing 23 miles (37km) off the Isle of Wight in international waters when they came into close contact with the Russian frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich on Tuesday. Sir Keir Starmer said firing shots into the path of a UK-registered yacht was reckless - an incident the Ministry of Defence has described as an isolated one. Russia's Defence Ministry said the yacht had been on a dangerous approach towards the warship but the couple said they were not on a collision course. The incident comes days after Royal Marine Commandos intercepted a Russian shadow fleet tanker carrying sanctioned oil in the Channel on Sunday, in the first operation of its kind carried out by the British military.