"Patrol ship HMS Mersey and a Wildcat helicopter from RNAS Yeovilton were dispatched to follow the progress of three Russian warships/vessels as they made their way up the Channel," the statement read.
The UK forces took the monitoring mission over from their French counterparts, which were monitoring the movement of the Russian ships through the Bay of Biscay, according to the statement.
The crew of Alexander Otrakovsky, the Russian Ropucha-class landing ship, is currently preparing to sail in unfavorable weather conditions of the North Sea, a spokesman of the Russian Northern Fleet said on Thursday. The ship was previously deployed in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the Russian permanent group.