Russia warns it will bomb British vessels next time after firing warning shots

Russia warned it will bomb British vessels next time they enter the Black Sea after firing warning shots at one on Wednesday.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned on Thursday that his country would no longer fire warning shots at British vessels that enter the waters near Crimea, Reuters reported.

“We can appeal to common sense, demand respect for international law, and if that doesn’t work, we can bomb,” Ryabkov said to Russian media.

Future bombs would be placed “on target” and not just in the vessel’s path, according to Ryabkov.

The situation arose when a Royal Navy destroyer Defender traveled in the Black Sea in waters Russia claims belong to it but the rest of the world disputes its jurisdiction over the area.

The area is disputed because Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 from Ukraine in a move that is not recognized by most other countries.

“These are Ukrainian waters and it was entirely right to use them to go from A to B,” U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, according to Reuters.

Johnson said the ship was traveling from the Ukrainian port of Odessa to the Georgian port of Batumi and denies Russia’s account of the situation, claiming there were no warning shots or bombs by Russia and that the ship was in line with international law.

British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said Russia did use unsafe aircraft maneuvers close to Britain’s ship, Reuters noted.

“The Royal Navy will always uphold international law and will not accept unlawful interference with innocent passage,” said Wallace.