The Decision on the Destroyer's Passage near the Crimea Was Made by Johnson - Media

The British government decided that Great Britain has the right to such a maneuver in the Black Sea. The passage of the destroyer Defender near the annexed Crimea sparked discussion in the British government - the final decision was made personally by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. This was reported by The Telegraph with reference to a source in the Ministry of Defense on Friday, June 25. Defense Minister Ben Wallace insisted on the route, but Foreign Minister Dominic Raab feared consequences from Russia. The decision was left to Johnson. All sides felt that Britain had the right to such a maneuver. Boris Johnson's decision was brought to the command two days before the incident. Later, Johnson himself confirmed the purposefulness of the actions of the destroyer Defender. “Our ship, along with others, protects our values, in which we believe - democracy, human rights, equality, as well as the rule of law and freedom of navigation. It is important that we do not recognize the Russian annexation of Crimea. This is part of the sovereign Ukrainian territory. It is absolutely correct to uphold the law and seek freedom of navigation by choosing the shortest route between the two points," Johnson said, Voice of America reports. We will remind that earlier the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the Black Sea Fleet ship opened "warning fire" at the British destroyer Defender, which allegedly violated the "Russian border" near Cape Fiolent near the coast of the annexed Crimea. Moscow states a planned provocation by the British. But Britain said that the ship was making a peaceful passage through the territorial waters of Ukraine, it wasn't subject to fire. In Ukraine, it was suggested that the Russian Federation announced firing in the direction of the destroyer in order to disrupt the Sea Breeze-2021 exercises.