Putin threatens Britain and France by staging war games in the English Channel with hypersonic missile-armed frigate after Starmer and Macron vowed to back Ukraine for as long as necessary

Vladimir Putin’s most modern frigate taunted Britain and France as it staged war games while passing through the English Channel on its maiden long-distance voyage.

The Russian Northern Fleet ultra-modern frigate Admiral Golovko is armed with hypersonic Tsirkon missiles.

These projectiles can travel some 900km at several times the speed of sound, making it almost impossible for conventional air defence systems to shoot them down. 

The warship, one of 10 planned for production as part of Russia’s Project 22350, left its Arctic home base in Severomorsk 11 days ago and sailed through the Barents, Norwegian and North Seas before heading for the Channel.

‘The crew of the Admiral Golovko frigate of the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet held exercises in the English Channel,’ said Russian defence ministry TV channel Zvezda.

‘The sailors practised anti-submarine and anti-aircraft defence, and conducted a training rescue operation using Ka-27 helicopters.’

Footage showed the drills as the vessel passed through the narrowest point of the busy seaway between England and France amid high tension between Moscow and the West over Putin’s war against Ukraine.

It comes as Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron vowed yesterday their respective nations will support Ukraine for as long as necessary ‘to thwart Russia’s war of aggression’.

Russia’s defence ministry said of the Golovko’s drills: ‘The combat crews of the frigate’s main command centre trained to disperse dangerous targets in the difficult conditions of intensive shipping in the strait.’

The war games included ‘anti-terrorist drills’ repelling aerial and marine drones of a ‘mock enemy’, said naval sources.

The 443ft-long Admiral Golovko has now passed through the English Channel and ‘is currently performing missions in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean’.

Earlier the warship had conducted exercises in the Barents, Norwegian and North Seas, and sailed 1,500 nautical miles on its first major mission.

State news agency TASS said: ‘The main goals of the long-distance deployment are to demonstrate the Russian flag and ensure Russia’s naval presence in operationally important areas of the World Ocean.’

The 5,400-ton Admiral Golovko joined the Navy in December and is the third frigate in the Project 22350 series.

As well as Tsirkon, the frigate is armed with a 130mm A-192 artillery system, a Redut air-defence missile system, launchers for 16 Oniks or Kalibr-NK anti-ship missiles and a Paket-NK anti-submarine system.

Its deployment in the Channel comes less than two weeks after Vladimir Putin personally oversaw nuclear war drills by Russia’s strategic missile forces.

The major exercises spanned Russia, with Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launches from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the northwest to the Kura test range in Kamchatka in the far east.

Defence Minister Andrei Belousov warned the West that the exercise was to show how Russia could deliver ‘a massive nuclear strike by strategic offensive forces in response to a nuclear strike by the enemy’.

Nuclear-powered submarines, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system and two Tu-95MS bombers were involved in Russia’s strategic nuclear deterrence force drills, according to Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov, who reported to Putin on the surprise drill.

Putin earlier declared it was necessary to keep his strategic forces ‘constantly ready for combat’ and lauded the capability of the latest Russian missiles to overcome air defence systems. 

As the Admiral Golovko trundled through the Channel, Britain’s Prime Minister was meeting Emmanuel Macron in France for Armistice Day commemorations.

Sir Keir was the first UK premier to attend Armistice Day commemorations in France since Winston Churchill was hosted by General de Gaulle in 1944.  

The pair met in Paris under the iconic Arc de Triomphe, where dozens of wreaths were touched by a milky light and the eternal flame flickered to honor sacrifices of unknown French soldiers who perished in the first global conflict. 

‘I am honoured to be in Paris to stand united with President Macron in tribute to the fallen of the First World War who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy today,’ Starmer said.

His Defence Secretary John Healey told Sky News the ceremonies amounted to a reminder that ‘we can never take the freedoms we enjoy in Europe for granted’.

Following the Armistice Day commemorations, the two leaders shared talks that covered a range of topics, including Ukraine.  

Starmer and Macron pledged to put Ukraine in the ‘strongest possible position’ after Donald Trump’s bombshell election win.

The PM and the President met in Paris amid rising fears about US withdrawing support for Kyiv and the potential for a trade war.

A readout of the discussions released by Downing Street carefully made no mention of Mr Trump or America – but the two leaders will inevitably have covered the developments. 

‘The leaders started by discussing the situation in Ukraine, including how best to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position going into the winter,’ No10 said.

‘Turning to the Middle East, both underscored their deep concern at the situation in Gaza and Lebanon. 

‘They also reiterated the need for stability in the West Bank.’

The leaders also chatted about the situation in the Channel, with Sir Keir desperately trying to enlist France’s help to stop small boats crossing.