The Royal Navy monitored a squadron of Russian warships as it moved through the Strait of Dover after carrying out exercises in the North Sea.
The destroyer Severomorsk, a landing craft, a rescue tugboat and a tank ship have anchored in the Bay of the Seine, off the coast of northern France, to wait out a storm, according to the Russian defence ministry.
The Royal Navy was aware of the ships' presence and HMS Tyne monitored and escorted the squadron as it moved from the North Sea on Tuesday down through the Strait of Dover, the Ministry of Defence said.
Patrol ship HMS Tyne finished shadowing the Russian vessels after they passed out of the UK's area of responsibility into the French zone.
It is understood the Russian vessels complied with all maritime reporting regulations and defence sources said they expected the ships to head to the Mediterranean.
An MoD spokesman said: "We are aware four Russian naval ships have passed through the Dover Strait from the North Sea into the English Channel, which all ships have the right to do under international law.
"The ships were escorted by the Royal Navy warship HMS Tyne as part of her UK maritime security role and have now left UK waters."
The Russians ships' presence comes at a time of heightened tension between Moscow and the West and follows a G20 summit at which Vladimir Putin came under international pressure over the Ukraine crisis.
France's president Francois Hollande has suspended the delivery of a warship to Russia, citing the "current situation" in eastern Ukraine.
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