The Royal Navy also shadowed Russian military vessels passing through the English Channel this week, officials said.

RAF fighter jets were scrambled to a Russian military aircraft spotted flying close to UK airspace. Two Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray took to the skies over the North Sea to closely monitor an approaching Russian Bear-F aircraft on Thursday,

RAF Typhoon fighter jets have been scrambled after a Russian military aircraft was detected flying near UK airspace. The aircraft, identified as a Bear-F reconnaissance plane, was monitored as it flew over the North Sea within the UK's area of interest.

The Russian planes were "not adhering to international norms" when Italian and Norwegian NATO jets were mobilized.