RUSSIA has set alarm bells ringing in Westminster with Vladimir Putin set to send a warship straight through the English Channel.
One of Russia's Ropucha-class landing ships has spent almost a year in the Med and Black Sea and is now en route back home.
After being pictured passing the Strait of Gibraltar on Sunday, the fearsome vessel is expected to continue up the Atlantic and then through the English Channel.
The Royal Navy is preparing to “take appropriate action” when the Minsk 127 approaches, the Ministry of Defence told the Daily Star Online.
The ship regularly carries huge amounts of weapons and has been heavily involved in helping Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad cling onto control in his country
The ship is expected to pass through the Strait of Dover, which is an international shipping route, this weekend.
Yörük Işık, a Turkish naval observer, said: “The Ropucha class Baltic Fleet landing ship will transit the Strait of Dover, very likely this Saturday.”
The latest move comes amid rising tension between Russia and its Western rivals, with NATO forces forced to scramble jets to intercept Kremlin planes on four occasions last week.
Yesterday the Lithuanian Defence Ministry revealed Russian jets flew through international airspace over the Baltic Sea to the enclave of Kaliningrad, prompting an emergency response, on April 9, 10, 12 and 14.
The ministry said: “On April 9-15 NATO fighter aircraft conducting the NATO Ari Policing Mission in the Baltic states were scrambled four times to intercept military aircraft pf the Russian Federation in international airspace over the Baltic Sea.”
On each occasion, a AN-26 or AN-12 jet was spotted “flying from Kaliningrad to mainland Russia, without using the onboard transponder”, which helps air traffic controllers identify aircraft.
Russia regularly pushes the patience and nerve of Britain by sailing huge ships through the Channel.
In November last year the Russian destroyer destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov raised tensions when it passed through the Channel without permission.
Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset was scrambled to escort the ship from UK waters as it returned from the Mediterranean Sea.
The Express.
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