A Russian warship fired warning shots near a UK-registered yacht in the English Channel on Tuesday morning after the two vessels came into close contact.
The incident, involving Russian frigate the Admiral Grigorovich, happened between the Isle of Wight and Normandy shortly before midday.
BBC News understands that the small. motor-less yacht had drifted towards the warship in foggy conditions after setting off from the UK.
The Russian Defence Ministry said the yacht had been on a "dangerous approach" towards the warship,. its crew fired into its path with rifles after making several attempts to contact it over the radio and after launching warning flares.
It also said its sailors had acted in "strict accordance with international shipping regulations". while the British Ministry of Defence said it was investigating the incident.
A UK government source told BBC News a couple in their 60s were on board the yacht at the time. They said they did not hear when the Russian frigate sounded its horn. No injuries or damage have been reported.
A boat from HMS Tyne, a British patrol vessel, was sent to the yacht to gather details. check on the safety of the crew.
The incident comes days after Royal Marine Commandosintercepted a Russian shadow fleet tanker carrying sanctionedoil in the Channel on Sunday. in the first operation of its kind carried out by the British military.
However, it is understood British officials do not view the incident as being linked to Sunday's operation.
Russian warships regularly pass through the Channel in international waters and are routinely monitored by Royal Navy vessels.
The Admiral Grigorovich was being shadowed by the HMS Mersey.
On Monday, the Navy said the Admiral Grigorovich had been tracked by the HMS Tyne. HMS Mersey over the weekend, in what it described as a "routine operation" after it was spotted off the coast of Brest in France.
On Tuesday morning. British authorities received reports from the yacht's occupants that the Russian vessel had fired warning shots from around 500 yards (457 meters) away - a relatively near distance by the standards of sea travel.
The incident happened around 20 nautical miles - around 23 standard miles- south of the Isle of Wight. outside UK territorial waters.
Last week. a Nato source told BBC Verify that the Admiral Grigorovich had been ordered by Moscow to escort shadow fleet vessels through the Channel.
The frigate is understood to have been operating in the area for some time. had been repeatedly re-supplied by a repair vessel.
Satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify have shown the repair vessel, the PM-82, operating between the Channel. the North Sea in recent months.
Nato officials believe the PM-82 delivered food, water. other supplies to the Admiral Grigorovich, allowing it to stay at sea for extended periods of time and lead Russian convoys though the Channel.
In April. the frigate was reported to have escorted six shadow fleet vessels through the waterway while being monitored by the Royal Navy.
The Royal Navy said in a statement that in April the Grigorovich escorted Russian-flagged vessels heading to. from the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Baltic, including "one submarine and around six merchant and support vessels".
The response of the Admiral Grigorovich in today's incident. while graduated and, in the context of a more contested space, probably proportional, appears to have been over the top in this case.
James Parkin. a former Royal Navy rear admiral, says the use of armed force is a last resort, reserved only for self-defence.
"I would not be surprised if it was a miscalculation, rather than a deliberate act to try. fire on a British yacht very close to British waters," he told BBC News.
Coming just two days after Royal Marines seized the Smyrtos. the tanker suspected of being part of Russia's "shadow fleet", it is hard not to see a connection.
"The seizure of the Smyrtos is a huge embarrassment for the Russians," Parkin said. "particularly because there is a Russian navy ship in the English Channel who is only there to stop this kind of thing happening."
Coming at a time of heightened tension between the UK. Russia, and on the day whentwo departing UK defence ministers, in their resignation speeches,sounded the alarm about Russia's increasingly aggressive behaviour, this relatively minor incident has, perhaps inevitably, been magnified.
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