Russian Nukes Enter English Channel

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• First sight of Putin’s warships marauding through the Channel just a mile from the British coast as we celebrate greatest naval victory on Battle of Trafalgar Day
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• A RUSSIAN fleet of warships entered the English Channel this morning – on the anniversary of Britain’s greatest sea battle.
• Two Royal Navy vessels are “man-marking” Vladimir Putin’s flotilla as it passes through the Dover Straits 211 years since the Battle of Trafalgar.
• The Admiral Kuznetsov - a 50-jet aircraft carrier - is the squadron's flagship alongside nuclear battleship Peter the Great.
• Dozens of Brits flocked to the Kent coastline to catch a glimpse of the fleet through their binoculars.
• Coincidentally, the ships pass by Britain on the Trafalgar Day - 211 years since the Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated Napoleon's navy.
• The sea battle is widely-seen as the greatest day in the history of the Royal Navy.
• Ministry of Defence chiefs have pledged to keep the flotilla well within their sights.
• A spokesman said: "When these ships are near our waters we will man-mark them every step of the way.
• "We will be watching as part of our steadfast commitment to keep Britain safe."
• They added: "It is pretty unambiguous that they have set a course to pass through the Dover Strait."
• But Russia's media laughed off the British response to the show of strength.
• State channel TV Zvezda, smirked: "NATO got scared by Russian ships moving towards Syria."
• And Russian journalist Vladimir Mukhin, yesterday wrote: "Admiral Kuznetsov scared the English."
• Former head of the Royal Navy Admiral Lord West dismissed it as "just a bit of willy waving".
• The naval hero told The Sun: "It's Putin doing a bit of a willy waving in a sense, saying this is what I can do.
• "He's just showing that Russia is there on the world stage."
• An MoD spokesperson told the Guardian they expect the fleet to pass Dover within the next 24 hours.
• They said: "They’re in the North Sea and they’re not going to turn west now – they are going to go through the Channel.
• "It’s hard to say when."
• Dramatic images released yesterday showed our boys monitoring Vladimir Putin's fleet off the Orkney Islands as they practised bombing sorties.
• Russian media has referred to the manoeuvres as Operation Sea Fist - just a day after mocking the 'tiny' British fleet.
• The giant Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier was operating its Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets near the Orkney Islands as it prepares to steam down the English Channel.
• The 300 metre-long Kuznetsov billows smoke in the background as a Brit sailor observes from HMS Richmond just a few hundred metres away.
• Putin's navy is understood to have carried out the drills to prepare their pilots for combat missions in Syria.
• The eight hi-tech ships will sail to the war-torn nation's Mediterranean coast, with the fleet passing through the North Sea and English Channel in the coming days.
• On Wednesday, Russian broadcasters brazenly predicted iron man Putin is ready to "seize control" of the Mediterranean Sea.
• A top Moscow military expert then mocked the 'tiny' Royal Navy, which has been tasked with tracking the threat.
• Britain has been without an aircraft carrier since HMS Illustrious was scrapped in 2014 but will be commissioning the £3.1bn HMS Queen Elizabeth in May 2017.
• The hi-tech carrier is 280m long and weighs over 70,000 tonnes, eclipsing the 43,000 tonne Kuznetsov.
• The sabre-rattling move is Putin's latest show of strength as he continues to prop up Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad against American wishes.
• And insiders in Moscow's military circles say it marks a first step towards Russia asserting its dominance in the Mediterranean.
• Defence expert for Russian news agency RIA, Alexander Khrolenko, said: "While the North Atlantic bloc is stalling in the sands of the Middle East, the Russian Navy seizes control over the Atlantic, not to mention the Mediterranean and Black Seas."
• The fearsome fleet is even expected to conduct naval drills off the coast of Scotland during the journey towards the Mediterranean
• Two Russian papers discuss potential for war between US and Russia over Syria
• The fearsome Northern Fleet is led by aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and nuclear-powered battle cruiser Peter the Great.
• The former is expected to provide more Russian jets to the bombing campaign aimed at anti-Assad fighters in the city of Aleppo.
• And Khrolenko warned their presence in the Med will tip the naval balance of power away from Nato nations, adding: "They have no equal in the Mediterranean."
• The Mail reported a source as saying: "The Admiral Kuznetsov is currently conducting flight operations off the east coast of the Orkneys.
• "The pilots need to be certified for carrier take-offs and landings at day and night before it takes up station in the Mediterranean.
• "They are free to do this in international waters, but once they are in the English Channel, the aircraft will be grounded."
• Images emerged yesterday of the ships sailing past the Norwegian city of Trondheim towards the North Sea, where they are expected to pick up an escort from the Royal Navy.
• The frigate HMS Richmond and destroyer HMS Duncan will likely shadow the Russian fleet to the Straits of Gibraltar.
• But dismissive Khrolenko poured scorn on "what little remains of the Royal Navy".
• Speaking about the approach of the ships, a Nato naval source told The Telegraph: “It’s not catching us by surprise, we are working up what to do and we are all over it.
• "The most likely thing is that they will go through the North Sea, down the Dover Strait and through the Channel.
• “They might even stop off the North East coast to fly for a bit.”
• The show of strength is the latest act of defiance from Moscow in the face of Western pressure over its bombing campaign in Syria.
• Earlier this month Russia bombers went on a run around Western Europe, forcing the air forces of four Nato members to scramble their fighter jets.
• President Vladimir Putin has been supporting embattled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad with air strikes.
• The bombing of an aid convoy last month saw a fragile ceasefire disintegrate and put even greater strain on relations between the US and Moscow.
• Neighbour Turkey warned on Monday that Syria could become a proxy war for the two superpowers as they pile weapons and advisers into the Middle East.
• The giant convoy was pictured steaming through the 21 mile-wide neck of the Channel as RAF Hercules reconnaissance planes