WW3 fears as Russia fires 'warning shot' at Turkish ship

REUTERS

WARNING: The Russian guard ship fired at the Turkish ship to avoid conflict

A Russian guard ship fired at the Turkish seine vessel on Sunday morning.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, watchmen detected the Turkish vessel approaching 22km from Lemons Island near Greece.

The Russians claims that despite multiple efforts to make contact its crew did not respond to radio or semaphore signals.

In response, it fired signal rockets before Russian naval arms shot at the boat.

GETTY

PUTIN: The shot comes weeks after a Russian jet was downed in Turkey

Quoted from its Facebook page, the Putin’s MOD said: “After the distance between the Turkish seine vessel the Russian guard ship reached 600 metres, the naval small arms were used at the distance of guaranteed survivability of the target in order to prevent the collision of the ships.

“Immediately after that, the Turkish vessel changed the heading and continued movement at the distance of 540 metres without contacting the Russian crew.”

The incident comes at the height of tension between the two nations after a Russian military jet was downed over Turkey in November.

TWITTER

THREAT: A Russian fighter holds a rocket launcher aboard a naval ship

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who called the downing of the plane a “stab in the back”, has since imposed economic sanctions on Turkey as a retaliatory measure.

Earlier this month, Turkey complained to Russia over an incident in which a Russian sailor was pictured brandishing a rocket launcher on the deck of a naval ship passing through Istanbul.

And it also comes amid rumours President Putin has launched a “Doomsday plane“, which would allow him to control war efforts from the skies.

On Friday Putin ordered his military chiefs to strengthen its strategic nuclear and space war forces.

As if to prove a point, yesterday the Russian Defence Ministry claimed its missile submarine successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile dubbed the “Sineva” in the Barents Sea in the latest of a series of tests of the country’s nuclear weapons arsenal.

In preparations for war, some experts believe Russia’s forces are not as a strong as many may think.

Dr Andrew Foxall – a UK-based Russian expert – said: “Russia’s equipment is outdated.

“The majority of the forces still follow the Soviet Union model.”

Yet UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has warned that Putin’s military capabilities should still be something to fear. 

Meeting with officials in Moscow, Mr Fallon said: “Russian aggression is something we have to counter.

“The Russian threat is something we cannot ignore.”