Russia dropped a bombshell late last month when it claimed an attack on its Black Sea fleet had been carried out with the aid of “British specialists.” Moscow went on to assert that the same unit of “specialists” had played a leading role in a September attack on its Nord Stream gas pipeline.
London, for its part, has dismissed Moscow’s assertions as “false claims of an epic scale.”
According to Fereydoun Barkeshli, head of the Vienna Energy Research Group, the UK and Russia have a history of shared animosity in which “finger-pointing is the name of the game.”
“But it’s been several weeks since the pipeline attack,” Barkeshli told The Epoch Times, “and we have yet to see any solid evidence as to who was responsible.”
Blaming London
On Oct. 29, Russian naval ships in the Crimean port of Sevastopol came under attack by multiple air and water-borne drones. According to Russian sources, a minesweeping vessel was damaged in the attack.Immediately afterward, Russian officials accused Ukraine of having carried out the assault with the aid of British military “specialists.”
“The preparation of this terrorist act … was carried out under the guidance of British specialists located in the [southern Ukrainian] town of Ochakiv,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding a claim that it had evidence for the assertion.
The ministry went even further, saying the same unit of British “specialists” had also been involved in a September attack on Russia’s strategic Nord Stream gas pipeline.
“According to available information, representatives of this unit of the British Navy took part in the planning, provision, and implementation of the terrorist attack in the Baltic Sea,” it stated.
London was quick to respond, describing the Russian allegations as “false claims of an epic scale” meant to distract attention from its “disastrous handling of the illegal invasion of Ukraine.”
“This invented story says more about arguments going on inside the Russian government than it does about the West,” the UK Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Officials in Kyiv also weighed in. Andriy Yermak, chief-of-staff for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accused Russia of carrying out “fictitious terrorist attacks on its own facilities.”
Crime Scene Revisited
On Sept. 26, Russia’s Nord Stream gas pipeline was intentionally breached–in four different places–in Swedish and Danish territorial waters. The pipeline, which links Russian gas fields to Northern Europe, was not operational at the time of the attack.The incident prompted a flurry of accusations between Western capitals and Moscow. While the latter strongly hinted at Western involvement, it refrained—initially at least—from explicitly naming any state actors.
Within days of the pipeline breaches, Swedish and Danish investigators concluded that they had been caused by multiple underwater explosions. They didn’t, however, identify any suspects.
Eyebrows were raised in mid-October when Sweden abruptly halted a joint investigation with Denmark and Germany, citing concerns over “national security.”
On Oct. 21, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticized the three countries for what he called an “unwillingness to unearth the truth.”
One week later, however, Stockholm reopened the case—this time with the help of the country’s military.
“I’ve decided, together with the security police, to carry out a number of additional investigations at the scene of the crime,” the Swedish prosecutor responsible for the case said on Oct. 28.
“Sweden appears to be walking a tightrope,” Barkeshli said. “The country’s on track to join the NATO alliance, so it’s keen to avoid alienating the UK.”
‘No Hard Evidence’
Russia doubled down on its claims of British complicity on Nov. 1.“There is evidence that Britain is involved in sabotage ... a terrorist act against vital energy infrastructure,” Peskov told reporters.
“Such actions cannot be put aside,” he said, adding that Moscow was considering “further steps” to be taken.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak shot back, saying the UK wouldn’t be drawn into “distractions” that were “part of the Russian playbook.”
According to Barkeshli, there are few—if any—“further steps” that Russia can take against Britain, at least in terms of the conflict in Ukraine.
“There’s no British presence inside Ukraine, and the UK isn’t a major contributor to Ukrainian defense efforts,” he said. “As such, any harm the Russians can do to Britain must be done outside the war zone.”
He added: “Direct or head-to-head confrontation [with the UK] is not an option for Russia.”
Nevertheless, on Nov. 3, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Deborah Bronnert, the UK’s ambassador to Moscow, with the stated aim of presenting her with “evidence” of its claims.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the ministry said it told Bronnert that “confrontational actions” by the UK threatened to “escalate the situation” and lead to “dangerous consequences.”
The ministry went on to assert that the British armed forces had provided training to Ukrainian military personnel, including training in “deep-sea sabotage skills.”
Russian officials have repeatedly stated that the “evidence” presented to Bronnert would be made available to the public “soon.”
However, proof of British complicity—in either the Sevastopol attack or the pipeline sabotage—hasn’t been presented in any public forum.
“Up until this point,” Barkeshli said, “no hard evidence has been put on the table.”
Truss Hack: ‘It’s Done’
In late October, reports emerged in the British press that former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss’ personal phone had been “hacked” by Russia while she was serving as foreign minister.Truss, who was replaced by Sunak as prime minister on Oct. 25, served as the UK’s foreign minister for a year before assuming the premiership.
A British government spokesperson responded to the phone-hack claims by saying that London had “robust systems in place to protect against cyber threats.”
The Kremlin, too, dismissed the reports. “Unfortunately, there’s a shortage of material in the British media that can be perceived as serious,” Peskov said.
But the story didn’t end there.
On Oct. 30, Kim Dotcom, a Finnish-German tech entrepreneur, claimed that Truss sent a text message, reading “It’s done,” to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the immediate wake of the pipeline attack.
“How do the Russians know that the UK blew up the North [sic] Stream pipelines in partnership with the US?” Dotcom rhetorically asked via Twitter.
“Because @trussliz used her iPhone to send a message to @SecBlinken saying ‘It’s done’ a minute after the pipeline blew up and before anybody else knew,” he alleged.
Although Dotcom didn’t provide any proof for the claim, the assertion was quickly seized upon by the Russians.
On Nov. 1, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said London should issue a statement on Dotcom’s allegation.
“Millions of people around the world have the right to know,” she told reporters.
On Nov. 6, Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, told the Rossiya-1 television channel that he had “indirect confirmation” that the allegation was true.
The UK government, meanwhile, has yet to comment on the potentially explosive claims.
