Russia says it may fire to hit intruding warships

A senior Russian diplomat warns that Russia will be ready to fire to hit to protect its borders

MOSCOW -- Russia will be ready to fire to hit to protect its borders, a senior diplomat warned Thursday in the wake of a Black Sea incident in which a British destroyer sailed near Crimea in an area that Russia claims as its territorial waters. Russia said one of its warships fired warning shots and a warplane dropped bombs in the path of British destroyer Defender Wednesday to drive it away from the area near Sevastopol, but Britain denied that account and insisted its ship wasn’t fired upon. The incident marked the first time since the Cold War that Moscow acknowledged using live ammunition to deter a NATO warship, underlining the rising threat of military collisions amid Russia-West tensions. Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Thursday that “the inviolability of the Russian borders is an absolute imperative,” adding that it will be protected “by all means, diplomatic, political and military if needed.”