Russian warship opens fire on Norwegian vessel in Arctic

A Russian warship demanded that a Norwegian fishing vessel leave an area in the Arctic Ocean, and when it failed to do so, it fired warning shots, according to the captain of the damaged vessel, Øystein Orten. He and his five-man crew encountered the Russian Navy's large anti-submarine ship Admiral Levchenko on September 12. "They called me on the radio: 'This is a Russian warship, you need to leave this area.' I replied that this was out of the question," Orten recounted the exchange.

The 163-metre-long warship then charged towards the 15-metre-long fishing boat, blaring its horn and firing a warning shot that exploded in the water near the Norwegian vessel. “It was a huge explosion, our boat shook,” Orten said, adding that they quickly sailed to a safe distance.

The incident took place in Norway's exclusive economic zone in the Barents Sea, which is shared between Norway and Russia. Russian forces had previously conducted exercises and launched missiles in the Norwegian economic zone, angering local fishermen.

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