Russian warship spotted in Channel escorting 'sanctioned' cargo ship carrying weapons 'for Ukraine frontline'
5 March 2025, 10:17 | Updated: 5 March 2025, 10:34
A Russian warship has been sighted escorting a sanctioned cargo ship crewed by men in military fatigues through the English Channel with Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset monitoring.
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The Baltic Leader was spotted on 3 March as it sailed through the Dover Strait, having collected military hardware from Syria on 28 February.
The vessel was being protected by the Russian warship Boikiy, which was armed with machine guns. The Baltic Leader had picked up its cargo from Russia’s base in Tartus, Syria and believed to be heading for the frontlines in Ukraine.
The Royal Navy told LBC its frigate, HMS Somerset watched every move as Russian ship Boikiy escorted merchant vessel Baltic Leader on its voyage from Syria through the English Channel and North Sea.
This marks the third time in four weeks that a Russian vessel has transported weapons from Syria via the Channel, with two more ships expected to follow the same route in the coming weeks.
High-resolution satellite images taken in early February show the Baltic Leader being loaded in Syria, according to Joseph Byrne, senior analyst at the Open Source Centre.
"While it isn’t exactly clear what cargo the vessel is loading, Tartus is a port where Russia has been storing its military equipment, likely waiting for transport," he said.
"Since mid-February we have seen a number of Russian-flagged cargo vessels sail from Syria into the Mediterranean and through the English Channel," he added.
"They have exhibited highly similar patterns of life, including switching off their transponders when entering Syrian waters and ports, not broadcasting their final destinations, and appearing to sail through the Channel with a military escort for protection."
French authorities seized the Russian cargo vessel in 2022 on suspicion of being linked to the sanctioned company over the war in Ukraine.
Read more: 'One-month truce' proposed for Ukraine to protect air, sea and energy targets from Russian attack
Russia is opting for this longer route around Europe—via the Straits of Gibraltar, Dover, and the Great Belt between Sweden and Denmark—due to Ukraine’s increasing success in sinking Russian ships in the Black Sea.
"Ukraine could destroy hundreds of tons of vital Russian military material in one go by attacking the ships, and that’s a huge risk for Russia to take," said James Droxford of intelligence consultancy Droxford Maritime.
He also suggested the Baltic Leader may play a crucial role in sustaining Putin’s war effort in Ukraine. “The recovered military hardware onboard Baltic Leader could be used to reinforce Russia’s combat capability in Ukraine, or to replenish military stocks in other key Russian military regions.”
The Boikiy, a 343ft-long Russian corvette capable of carrying up to 99 personnel, was seen escorting the Baltic Leader through the Channel in the early hours of Monday morning, The Times reported. The cargo ship had been sanctioned by the US in 2022 for transporting Russian military supplies.
Armed personnel were seen manning machine guns on the warship as it passed through the southern English Channel.
The Baltic Leader was carrying military equipment from Tartus, Syria, where Russia has been winding down its operations following the decline of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The Boikiy’s escort mission began at 5am on 3 March, south of Torquay. The convoy moved slowly across the Channel, shadowed by two NATO vessels—HMS Somerset from the Royal Navy and the Belgian Navy’s BNS Crocus. The Baltic Leader was last seen leaving the Channel at 2pm on 4 March.
Commander Joel Roberts, Commanding Officer of HMS Somerset, said: “Somerset is well versed in the escort of Russian ships, having conducted these operations on a number of occasions.
“Great professionalism has been shown by the ship’s company to remain vigilant whilst operating in UK waters and integrating with our NATO Allies to monitor Russian activity around Europe.”
The Royal Navy told LBC Somerset began monitoring Boikiy on March 1, shadowing the warship as it headed south through the North Sea and English Channel to meet Baltic Leader to escort the vessel – which came from Syria – back to Russia.
The Plymouth-based warship remained on duty for the return journey as Boikiy and Baltic Leader met near the traffic separation scheme at Ushant, near France, before sailing through the Channel and into the North Sea.
It’s the second time this year Somerset has been activated to track Russian ships. In January, the frigate tracked the suspected spy vessel, Yantar, alongside patrol ship HMS Tyne.
Satellite images confirmed the ship had departed from Tartus on 13 February. Russia’s diminishing use of the port, combined with Ukraine’s growing ability to target Russian vessels in the Black Sea, has led to increased Russian naval activity in Syrian waters.
Droxford reiterated the risk for Moscow: “Ukraine could destroy hundreds of tons of vital Russian military material in one go by attacking the ships, and that’s a huge risk for Russia to take.”
Byrne also noted the consistent pattern of Russian cargo movements:
"Since mid-February we have seen a number of Russian-flagged cargo vessels sail from Syria into the Mediterranean and through the English Channel."
"They have exhibited highly similar patterns of life, including switching off their transponders when entering Syrian waters and ports, not broadcasting their final destinations, and appearing to sail through the Channel with a military escort for protection."
Russia’s military activity has become increasingly bold in recent weeks.
Last week, NATO scrambled warplanes from Poland after Vladimir Putin launched strategic bomber and missile attacks on Ukraine, even as he publicly insisted he wanted peace “as soon as possible”.
Putin’s air force deployed Tu-95MS nuclear-capable bombers to strike targets across Ukraine, triggering panic in Kyiv as residents sought shelter in metro stations. Explosions were reported in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Sumy, as well as in Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv. Russia also deployed drones, with reports of multiple injuries.
In response, Warsaw’s Armed Forces Operations Command ordered NATO jets to patrol Polish airspace as Russian bombers and missiles flew over Ukraine, raising fears they could breach Poland’s borders.
"Attention, due to the activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, striking targets located, in particular, in the west of Ukraine, military aviation has begun to operate in the airspace of Poland," the command headquarters said.
Polish ground-based air defences and radar systems were also put on high alert.
