Putin taunts Britain again: Two Russian warships are escorted through English Channel by Royal Navy amid escalating global tension

Two Russian warships were spotted sailing through the North Sea this morning
They will continue through the English Channel tonight amid escalating tension
It is not clear what the destination of corvettes Soobrazitelny and Boiky is

Published: 16:30 BST, 15 April 2017 | Updated: 17:11 BST, 15 April 2017

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The Royal Navy will escort two Russian warships through the English Channel tonight after they were spotted sailing through the North Sea towards Dover today.

Royal Navy frigate HMS Sutherland located the two ships in the early hours of this morning.

The Ministry of Defence published two photographs of the ships today and said Royal Navy sailors will be keeping watch on their every movement by using state-of-the-art radars to track their course and speed.

Above is one of the Russian warships which were spotted by the Royal Navy this morning

The Ministry of Defence said Royal Navy sailors will be keeping watch on every movement of the ships. Above shows another image of one of the ships

It is not known what the destination is of the corvettes, dubbed Soobrazitelny and Boiky.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said: 'HMS Sutherland is carefully marking these Russian ships as they pass close to UK waters. The Royal Navy maintains a vigilant watch and is always ready to keep Britain safe.'

Commander Andrew Canale, the Commanding Officer of HMS Sutherland, said: 'As one of the Royal Navy's high readiness units, HMS Sutherland is required to escort warships that approach the UK and this task is considered routine business for us.

The graphic above shows the route of the Russian ships

'It is vitally important the Royal Navy demonstrates its presence and commitment to the integrity of UK territorial waters as we work around the clock to secure the seas of our island nation.'

As a high-readiness unit, HMS Sutherland may be called upon at any time to help prevent arms trafficking, people smuggling, conduct counter-terrorism operations, maritime search and rescue, or escort duties like those it is undertaking today.

Earlier this year, Vladimir Putin’s huge aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov was spotted sailing past the white cliffs of Dover as it sailed home to Russia.

A squadron of RAF Typhoon warplanes were deployed to monitor the ageing Soviet-era vessel from the air as it passed menacingly close to Britain accompanied by the nuclear-powered cruiser Pyotr Veliky and support ships.

The vast warship last came close to Britain in October on its way to its deadly mission. It crew was accused of an 'indiscriminate' bombing campaign in support of Syrian Bashar Assad.