- Russia says British naval personnel blew up pipes
- Russia says British naval personnel helped attack Crimea
- Russia gives no evidence to claim
- Britain denies the Russian claims
LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Russia’s defense ministry said on Saturday that British navy personnel blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month, a claim London said was false and designed to distract the Russian military failures in Ukraine.
Russia did not provide evidence for its claim that a leading NATO member had 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 specialists” from the same unit directed Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian Black Sea Fleet ships in Crimea on Saturday before it said they 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 implementation of a terrorist attack in the Baltic Sea on September 26 this year, blowing up the Nord Stream 1 gas pipelines and Nord Stream 2,” the ministry said.
Britain denied the claim.
“To diminish its disastrous handling of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s Ministry of Defense is resorting to selling disinformation on an epic scale,” he said.
“This fabricated story says more about the arguments within the Russian government than it does about the West.”
Russia has previously blamed the West for the explosions that ruptured the Russian-built Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines on the Baltic Seabed.
But he had not previously given specific details about who he believes was responsible for the damage to the pipelines, once the largest routes for Russian gas supplies to Europe.
On September 26, a sharp drop in pressure was recorded in both pipelines and seismologists detected explosions, prompting a wave of speculation about sabotage of one of Russia’s most important energy corridors.
Reuters could not immediately verify any of the conflicting claims about who was to blame for the damage.
PIPELINE MYSTERY
Sweden and Denmark have concluded that four leaks in Nord Stream 1 and 2 were caused by explosions, but have not said who might be responsible. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described the damage as an act of sabotage.
Sweden has ordered additional investigations into the damage to the pipelines, 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 “stupid” and Russian officials have said Washington had a reason for wanting 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 volumes.
Sections of the 1,224 km (760 miles) long pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany, lie at a depth of about 80-110 meters.
Meanwhile, Russia said Ukrainian forces attacked ships of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, the largest city in Russia-annexed Crimea, early 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 the servicemen of the 73rd Special Naval Operations Center of Ukraine was carried out under the direction of British specialists located in the city of Otsakhiv.”
All the aerial drones were destroyed, although minor damage was done to the minesweeper Ivan Golubets, the ministry said. Sevastopol is the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Reporting by Reuters Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Frances Kerry
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