DISINFO: BBC journalist confirmed that the ship had deliberately crossed the border
SUMMARY
On June 23, the British destroyer Defender entered the territorial sea for three kilometers and crossed the border near Cape Fiolent in the Crimea. The Russian border ship fired a warning and the Su-24M aircraft bombed along the path of the destroyer.
The British Ministry of Defence and the government office said the naval ship "made a peaceful passage through the territorial waters of Ukraine and no one fired at it", while Russia was conducting "exercises."
However, a BBC journalist on board the destroyer confirmed that the ship had deliberately crossed the border.
RESPONSE
This is a distortion of the report of the BBC journalist aboard the British destroyer HMS Defender, defence correspondent Jonathan Beale, as part of a disinformation campaign about the incident near Crimea’s coast on 23 June 2021. As can be seen in his original report, he uttered the term “deliberate” in a different context to the one portrayed here.
His exact words were: “HMS Defender is going to sail within what Russia now claims as its territorial waters, but following a legally recognised shipping lane”. In a written addendum to the story on the BBC website, Beale stated:
“This would be a deliberate move to make a point to Russia. HMS Defender was going to sail within the 12 mile (19km) limit of Crimea's territorial waters. The captain insisted he was only seeking safe passage through an internationally recognised shipping lane.”
In this article, his statements were merged and the nuances are purposefully ignored, presenting as if he allegedly confirms a deliberate border violation in order to present the incident as a British provocation, in line with the statements of Russian top officials.
Given that Russia’s annexation of Crimea is internationally considered as illegal, the affirmation that the vessel “entered Russian territorial waters in the Black Sea” is also false.
See other examples of disinformation about the HMS Defender incident, such as the claim that UK destroyer’s passage near Crimea violated international law, that its presence in the Black Sea was a NATO provocation or that the UK wanted Russia to shoot at the vessel.