VLADIMIR Putin warned the UK would never win a war against Russia days after forces clashed in the Black Sea.

Responding to last week's incident involving Britain's HMS Defender near Sevastopol, the Russian leader said anyone provoking his country "know full well that they can't win in that war".

"We are on our land. We're fighting for ourselves and our future," he said.

This is Putin's starkest warning yet to Western governments following last week's skirmish in the Black Sea.

Moscow said one of its warships fired warning shots and a warplane dropped bombs in the path of British destroyer Defender last Wednesday to force her out of an area near the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.

Britain denied that account, insisting its ship wasn't fired upon and said it was sailing in Ukrainian waters.

Putin also said a US spy plane operated in sync with the British destroyer during last weeks Black Sea encounter.

Speaking Wednesday during a marathon live call-in show, Putin said the jet was monitoring Russia's military response.

He added that Moscow was aware of the US intentions and responded accordingly to avoid revealing sensitive data.

Putin went on to say his forces could sink a British warship and get away with it because Western powers knew they wouldn't win a global conflict.

He also called Ukrainians and Russians "one people" in response to a question on Moscow's tug-of-war with Kyiv over its eastern territories.

The Russian leader also spent time persuading citizens to get vaccinated against Covid-19, revealing he too received a Sputnik jab.

"Thank goodness we don't have the same tragic situation post-vac as we've seen after AZ or Pfizer," he said in a dig against EU and British vaccine programmes.

Russia has struggled to cope with a new surge of infections and deaths.

Daily Covid deaths hit a new daily record on Wednesday, with authorities reporting 669 fatalities.

The country has been registering 20,000 new coronavirus cases and around 600 deaths every day since last Thursday. On Wedneday alone it recorded 21,042 new cases.

This comes as Russian jets harassed a Dutch frigate after it sailed through international waters near the Ukrainian coast.

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Putin warns UK it ‘can’t win that war’ after Russian navy clashes with HMS Defender in Black Sea
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