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A Russian naval frigate fired a warning shot at a civilian yacht in the English Channel on Tuesday, in the latest flashpoint between Moscow and the West as G7 leaders meeting in the French Alps announced sweeping new sanctions against Russia and Kyiv pressed allies for faster action on air defences and EU membership.
The incident, reported by the Press Association, occurred at around 11:40 a.m. and involved the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich, operating in waters between the Isle of Wight and the Normandy coast.
It came just two days after British forces boarded a Russian shadow fleet tanker, the Smyrtos, in the English Channel, the first such operation of its kind. The UK Foreign Office has separately announced new sanctions on Russia targeting its shadow fleet and individuals suspected of supporting its oil trade.
The Channel confrontation unfolded as leaders at the Evian-les-Bains summit moved to tighten the financial vice on Moscow.
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a new sanctions package targeting Russia's shadow fleet, energy revenues, defence-industrial networks and disinformation actors, following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the summit's sidelines.
Zelenskyy thanked Carney for the measures, saying it was "important that such decisions are made." The two leaders also discussed defence cooperation formats, Canada's participation in financing Ukrainian drone production, and continued Canadian energy and reconstruction support.
The Canadian announcement followed a similar package unveiled earlier Tuesday by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said sanctions "have a real impact on Russia." Both moves reflect a coordinated effort among Western allies to constrict Moscow's ability to fund its war through offshore oil revenues and opaque financial networks.
On the sidelines of the summit, Zelenskyy held a series of bilateral meetings and pressed the case for urgent action on two fronts.
On air defences, he said leaders had reached broad agreement. "Air defence, everyone recognises this, everyone will help, and the entire international community will work to strengthen our defences," he told reporters via WhatsApp. He added that Ukraine could help manufacture air defence systems domestically and had discussed licensing arrangements with the United States.
On EU membership, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needed "creative solutions to quickly join the EU, or Russia will find ways to block it." After meeting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he said his counterpart understood that "Ukraine is counting on a fast-track membership of the EU" and thanked Berlin for its support toward that goal.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, meeting his counterpart in Türkiye on Tuesday, pushed back, warning that future Ukrainian EU membership would be exploited by those seeking to militarise the bloc.
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The diplomatic activity came as the war continued to exact a civilian toll inside Ukraine.
Three people were killed in a Russian drone strike on the southern city of Nikopol on Tuesday, including an 87-year-old woman and her 51-year-old son. Regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said the victims were struck by a first-person-view drone while walking along a road. A third victim's age was not given.
The strike added to casualties reported earlier in the week, when a Russian missile barrage on Monday killed at least 11 people across Ukraine and sparked a fire at one of Kyiv's most prominent Orthodox monasteries.
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