Navy scrambles ship to Russian warship spotted stalking the UK coast 

A Royal Navy warship has been scrambled to track nuclear-capable Russian warships stalking Britain’s coast.

The Type 23 frigate – described by the navy as the ‘core of the frontline fleet’ – has set course for the North Sea.

It will track the five Russian ships that have been spotted as they leave the Baltic on course for British waters.

The fleet includes five warships and two additional support vessels arrive today in waters off the UK coast.

All are equipped with deadly Kalibr cruise missiles, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, which have often been used in Ukraine.

Pictured: Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Portland docked at Portsmouth naval base in Hampshire

A Ministry of Defense spokesman told MailOnline: ‘We monitor activities in British waters and the Economic Exclusion Zone, routinely providing an appropriate presence to counter and deter threats.’

They added that they are aware of a small number of Russian vessels cruising around the UK and are closely monitoring the situation.

It comes amid preparations for King Charles’s coronation next Saturday and a record number of world leaders descending on London.

The Russian fleet includes the frigate Admiral Grigorovich of the Black Sea Fleet in addition to the corvettes of the Baltic Fleet Sbrazitelnyy, Stoikiy, Sovetsk and Odintsovo, the tugboat Grebelsky and the tanker Kama of the Northern Fleet.

The guided-missile destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov was also photographed yesterday heading towards the North Sea.

Poseidon P-8 maritime patrol aircraft were coded by the RAF yesterday to track the Russian ships.

It comes just weeks after British and German warplanes intercepted Russian jets and a spy plane over the Baltic Sea.

The UK and Germany sent Eurofighter Typhoon jets from Amari Air Base in Estonia to identify the two Sukhoi Su-27 fighters escorting an Ilyushin Il-20 Coot-A intelligence aircraft, the RAF said.

The guided-missile destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov is among the group, pictured yesterday as it headed for the North Sea

Pictured: Russia is warning the West by releasing chilling new footage of the launch of an ‘unstoppable’ Zircon nuclear-capable Mach 9 hypersonic missile from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the Barents Sea on May 28, 2022.

The Russian fleet includes the frigate Admiral Grigorovich, corvettes Sbrazitelnyy, Stoikiy and Odintsovo, tug Grebelsky and tanker Kama (photo)

The Type 23 frigate deployed by the Royal Navy is equipped with Harpoon anti-ship missiles, which can fly just above the surface of the water to evade defenses.

Based at Portsmouth and Devonport, the Duke Class frigates have a crew of 185 and a top speed of 28 knots (32 miles per hour).

A versatile ship first developed to counter the threat of the Soviet submarine. Usually found east of Suez, they protect Britain’s trade routes or the country’s interests in the South Atlantic.

The Kalibr missile is a cruise missile capable of supersonic speed and can carry a warhead of up to 1,100 pounds of explosive or a thermonuclear warhead.

It has an estimated range of more than 2400 kilometers – the distance from London to Moscow.

Among the Russian fleet is Admiral Grigorovich’s frigate, which has previously been used as part of the Russian military intervention in Syria.

In 2016, it destroyed IS and Al-Nusra targets, including ammunition depots and training centers with Kalibr cruise missiles.

Frigates of the same class are also said to have fired Kalibr missiles at targets in the war in Ukraine.

The group also includes corvettes – the smallest class of ships that are said to still be warships.