Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that British Navy personnel blew up Nord Stream pipelines last month, an allegation that London said was false and designed to distract from Russian military failures in Ukraine.
Russia did not provide evidence of the claim.
The Russian ministry further said that “British experts” led Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian Black Sea Fleet ships in Crimea earlier this Saturday. The folder said the advances were repulsed, with minor damage to a Russian minesweeper.
“According to available information, representatives of this British Navy unit participated in the planning, preparation and implementation of a terrorist attack in the Baltic Sea on 26 September this year – blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines,” said the Ministry.
The UK denied the allegation.
“To defuse the disastrous treatment of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defense is resorting to false claims of an epic scale,” said a spokesperson for the UK Ministry of Defense.
“This latest made-up story says more about the arguments within the Russian government than it does about the West.”
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Moscow would seek a reaction from the United Nations (UN) Security Council. She said on social media that Moscow wanted to draw attention to “a series of terrorist attacks committed against the Russian Federation in the Black and Baltic Seas, including the UK’s involvement in them.”
Russia, deeply isolated by Western nations since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine, has already blamed the West for the explosions that ruptured the Russian-built Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines on the bed of the Baltic Sea.
But the country has not given specific details about who it believes is responsible for the damage to infrastructure, formerly the biggest Russian gas supply routes to Europe.
A sharp drop in pressure in both pipelines was recorded on September 26 and seismologists detected explosions, sparking a wave of speculation about sabotage to one of Russia’s most important energy corridors.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify any of the conflicting claims about who was to blame for the damage.
The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines have a combined annual capacity of 110 billion cubic meters – more than half of Russia’s normal gas export volumes.
Black Sea Fleet
Meanwhile, Russia said Ukrainian forces attacked Black Sea Fleet ships in Sevastopol, the largest city in Russia-annexed Crimea, in the early hours of Saturday.
“Nine unmanned aerial vehicles and seven autonomous marine drones were involved in the attack,” the Defense Ministry said.
“The preparation of this terrorist act and the training of military personnel of the 73rd Special Naval Operations Center of Ukraine were carried out under the guidance of British experts located in the city of Ochakiv.”
All aerial drones were destroyed, although minor damage was done to minesweeper Ivan Golubets, the ministry said. Sevastopol is the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Source: CNN Brasil
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