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LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that British naval personnel blew up the Nord Stream gas pipeline last month, a claim London claimed was false and designed to distract from Russian military failures in Ukraine.
Russia did not provide evidence for its claim that the leading NATO member sabotaged critical Russian infrastructure amid the worst crisis in relations between the West and Russia since the depths of the Cold War.
The Russian ministry said “British experts” from the same unit directed Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian Black Sea Fleet ships in Crimea earlier Saturday, which it said were largely repelled by Russian forces, with minor damage to a Russian minesweeper.
“According to the available information, representatives of this unit of the British Navy participated in the planning, provision and execution of a terrorist attack in the Baltic Sea on September 26 this year – blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines,” the ministry said.
Britain rejected this claim.
“The Russian Ministry of Defense is resorting to false claims of an epic scale to escape their disastrous conduct of the illegal invasion of Ukraine,” the British Ministry of Defense said.
“This invented story says more about the arguments going on inside the Russian government than it does about the West.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow would seek a response from the UN Security Council, and on social media Moscow wanted to “draw attention to a series of terrorist attacks against the Russian Federation in the Black and Baltic Seas. Britain’s involvement in them.”
Deeply isolated by the West since its February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Russia has previously blamed the West for explosions that tore down the Russian-built Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines on the Baltic Sea bed.
But he had not previously given specific details on who he held responsible for the damage to the pipelines, the biggest routes for Russian gas supplies to Europe.
On September 26, a sharp drop in pressure was recorded on both pipelines and seismologists detected explosions, triggering a wave of speculation about sabotage in one of Russia’s most important energy corridors.
Reuters could not immediately verify any conflicting claims about who was responsible for the damage.
The pipeline mystery
Both Sweden and Denmark have concluded that the four leaks on Nord Stream 1 and 2 were caused by the explosions, but have not said who may be responsible. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called the loss an act of sabotage.
Sweden has ordered an additional investigation into the damage to the pipeline, the prosecutor in charge of the case said in a statement on Friday.
The Kremlin has repeatedly said allegations of Russian responsibility for the damage were “absurd” and Russian officials have said Washington’s motive was because it wants to sell more liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe.
The United States has denied involvement.
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 volume.
Sections of the 1,224-km (760-mile) long pipeline, which runs from Russia to Germany, are about 80-110 meters deep.
Black Sea Fleet
Russia, meanwhile, said Ukrainian forces attacked Black Sea Fleet ships in Sevastopol, the largest city in Russian-annexed Crimea, early Saturday.
Nine unmanned aerial vehicles and seven autonomous maritime drones were involved in the attack, the Defense Ministry said.
“Preparation for this terrorist act and training of soldiers of the Ukrainian 73rd Special Center for Naval Operations was carried out under the guidance of British experts based in the city of Ochakiv.”
The ministry said all the air drones were destroyed although the minesweeper Ivan Golubets suffered minor damage. Sevastopol is the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
Reporting by Reuters Editing by Guy Faulkenbridge and Frances Carey
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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