Déjà vu—Russia’s Illegal Restrictions on Innocent Passage in the Black Sea

On June 23, 2021, the Associated Press reported that the Russian military claimed one of its warships had fired warning shots in front of the HMS Defender after the British destroyer ignored a warning that it would be fired upon if it entered the Russian-claimed territorial sea off the Crimean Peninsula. The Russian military also claimed that a Russian Su-24 bomber dropped four fragmentation bombs ahead of the Defender to persuade the British warship to alter its course and  that the British destroyer left Russian waters shortly thereafter.