(MENAFN- UkrinForm) CNN reports this in an article, according to Ukrinform.

In a statement released on Sunday by the UK Ministry of Defence, it was reported that the patrol ship HMS Severn intercepted the Russian corvette RFN Stoikiy and tanker Yelnya as they sailed through the English Channel. The Severn eventually handed over monitoring duties to an unidentified NATO ally off the coast of Brittany.

The news comes just days after Defense Secretary John Healey told reporters that the Russian spy ship Yantar had aimed lasers at the pilots of surveillance aircraft monitoring its activities off the coast of Scotland. The UK described Yantar's actions as "reckless and dangerous," adding that the country is ready to respond to any incursions into its territory.

Overall, according to the UK Ministry of Defence, Russian naval activity around UK waters had increased by 30% over the past two years.

In addition to the ships stationed around the UK coast, Britain has deployed three Poseidon surveillance aircraft to Iceland as part of a NATO mission patrolling for Russian ships and submarines in the North Atlantic and Arctic, the ministry said.

Read also: Russia accelerates digital self-isolation – intelligence

As Ukrinform reported, the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) uncovered a Russian money-laundering network worth billions of dollars operating across the UK, aimed at helping Russia circumvent Western sanctions.

Photo: United Kingdom Ministry of Defence

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