Johnson Ordered the Incursion Into Russian Territorial Waters Over the Objection of His Foreign Policy Chief

Even the neocon Dominic Raab was against it

Senior minister Dominic Raab raised concerns about a decision to send a Royal Navy warship through contested Crimean waters before a confrontation with Russian forces, it was revealed today.

The Foreign Secretary is said to have been in a ‘dispute’ with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace over the route taken through the Black Sea by HMS Defender earlier this week.

The Type-45 destroyer was involved in an international incident after using an international shipping lane that went close to the Ukrainian peninsula, which is illegally occupied and claimed by Russia.

On Wednesday, a Russian patrol vessel fired repetitive thudding bursts from its 30mm cannon near the British destroyer after it ignored their orders to steer away from Crimean waters.

Ministers have insisted that the route was pre-planned and followed an internationally recognised route between Ukraine and Georgia.

But a source told the Telegraph today that Mr Raab and Mr Wallace clashed at a meeting, before demanding Boris Johnson make the final decision. 

‘The whole dispute was between Raab and Wallace, then it went to the PM. The decision was sent to Defender on Monday that she was to take innocent passage through those waters,’ they said.

Mr Raab is said to have warned that Moscow could seek to exploit the journey for propaganda purposes.

A defence source claimed that a “dust up” had erupted because the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) had raised concerns about HMS Defender sailing through contested waters.

The insider told The Telegraph: “The whole dispute was between Raab and Wallace, then it went to the PM for a decision. The decision was sent to Defender on Monday that she was to take innocent passage through those waters.”

However sources told MailOnline that it was ‘rubbish’ to suggest there was a disagreement between him and Mr Wallace and that the passage route was ‘long-planned’.

Russia summoned the UK’s ambassador in Moscow for a formal telling off last night as relations between the two nations continued to deteriorate after the air and sea skirmish in the Black Sea.

Russia’s foreign ministry hauled in Deborah Bronnert in order to deliver a ‘tough demarche’ – diplomatic jargon for a firm rebuke.

It came as Boris Johnson borrowed a page out of Vladimir Putin’s playbook as he joined the British Army for land and air manoeuvres before declaring the Royal Navy will not be dictated to by Moscow following yesterday’s incident.

As Russian officials promised to bomb any ship unlawfully in Crimean waters, the PM said it was ‘entirely right’ for HMS Defender to have been travelling close to the peninsula because the UK does not recognise Russia‘s ‘illegal’ claim to the territory.

Mr Johnson dodged the question of whether he had personally authorised the Royal Navy destroyer to use the route but insisted that British ships would make the same journey again if needed, despite Russian threats.

Mr Putin’s deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov warned against ‘provocative steps’ and vowed that Russia will bomb any ships who ‘violate the state borders of the Russian Federation’.

Moscow claimed it fired warning shots at the destroyer as it passed through the contested part of the Black Sea but that assertion was dismissed by the UK which said Russia was conducting a routine ‘gunnery exercise’. [What a coincidence.]   

Russia subsequently accused the UK of telling ‘barefaced lies’ about what had happened but Mr Johnson struck a defiant tone as he hit back and said: ‘Well, they’re the bear.’ 

Earlier, the Environment Secretary George Eustice had hinted that he believed Russia’s claim of British aggression was a stunt, with Moscow trying to paint a regular military exercise as something more significant.

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace rubbished the claim of shots being directed at the ship, telling MPs: ‘At no point were warning shots fired at HMS Defender, nor bombs dropped in her path as has been asserted by the Russian authorities.’

Mr Johnson said: ‘I think it was wholly appropriate to use international waters. This is part of sovereign Ukrainian territory, it was entirely right that we should vindicate the law and pursue freedom of navigation in the way that we did, take the shortest route between two points, and that’s what we did.’

He added: ‘We don’t recognise the Russian annexation of Crimea, it was illegal, these are Ukrainian waters and it was entirely right to use them to go from A to B.’ [Which invalidates innocent passage in a major way.]

The PM spoke out on visit to New Normandy Barracks in Aldershot, where he addressed soldiers, drove an armoured vehicle complete with machine gun before jumping into a helicopter in aviation gear for the flight back to London.

A Government spokesman said:  ‘HMS Defender’s innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters was long planned and entirely in accordance with international law.’

‘The route taken was the most direct, via an internationally recognised route between Ukraine and Georgia.’

Source: The Daily Mail

11 Comments
  1. Studio 54 says

    The UK does as the US tells them to do. The UK is run via twitter or via their US run security services. British politicians are irrelevant, and have no idea what is happening till it happens, that is why they always look so confused. Their job is just to hide the true chain of command, which runs back to Langley Virginia.

  2. yuri says

    UK an irrelevant US colony—UK= has been collapsed impoverished former empire for 75 years, the latter a disintegrating morally decayed empire that will crumble in less than 10 years

  3. ken says

    I can just imagine the message to the moronic populace when war breaks out.

    “Join and help us fight for your freedoms and liberty you presently enjoy”

    Bwahahahahahahahahaha……

  4. GMC says

    Any Admiral that listens or takes order from a joker like BoJo – needs to have his ship – sunk.

  5. Ultrafart the Brave says

    “The Type-45 destroyer was involved in an international incident after using an international shipping lane that went close to the Ukrainian peninsula, which is illegally occupied and claimed by Russia.”

    Well, we can see that the author of this article is fully on board with the offical Team America ® narrative for Crimea.

    Never mind what 90% of the people of Crimea might have to say about it.

    Apparently it’s Britain, and not Crimea, who will democratically decide who owns Crimea.

  6. Steve Kastl says

    “They are the bear.” What sort of idiotic nonsense pours out of his tiny mind and big mouth? Does he realize that he is showing how ignorant and unprepared he is? If he cared about Britain, he would resign, but fools and sociopaths never quit voluntarily.

  7. Eddy says

    Quote, “illegally occupied and claimed by Russia.” Unquote. Says who ? The people of the Crimea have excercised their democratic right to CHOOSE who their Government will be. They chose Russia. Just like the Bosnians chose to separate themselves from Yugoslavia.WHY, is it acceptable for the Bosnians to choose, but not the Crimeans ??? Who is it, who makes that judgement call, if not the local people.

  8. Jerry Hood says

    BoJo, aka Löwe, satanic jew born in Jew Yoke City, from incest….

    1. Jerry Hood says

      Zionazi supporter of Senile Biden and his pedophile ” elite”…

  9. Jerry Hood says

    UK is Second Bangladesh! In the old ” Imperial” times, the British went to colonise the Third world to teach them to live the ” British Way”…Nowadays, Britain is colonised by the Third World, teaching them to live the Bangladeshi and Somali Way with Zimbabwe economy….

    1. PICTUREBOY34 says

      LOL

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