According to Sky News, the Royal Navy monitored a Russian warship conducting live-fire drills in international waters around 40 nautical miles south of Plymouth.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence said the Royal Navy tracked the exercise throughout and continued to watch the vessel closely, while remaining prepared to protect the country’s national security.

Before the drills began, the Russian crew informed the patrol ship HMS Tyne that artillery fire was about to start and asked it to move farther away. The British vessel withdrew to a safe distance. The exercise lasted about 30 minutes.

A day earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged observers not to search for hidden political messages in Russian naval activity. He said such maneuvers were conducted in line with international law.

Peskov was responding to speculation that the voyage of the patrol ship Neustrashimy might have been linked to the change of prime minister in Britain. He rejected that interpretation and said the deployment should not be viewed as a political signal.