Russia says British specialists aided Ukraine in an attack on the Black Sea fleet on Saturday. At the same time, they accuse the UK of being behind the Nord Stream sabotage in September.
The Russian navy says it thwarted a drone strike Saturday morning in Sevastopol Bay on the Crimean annexed peninsula, according to Russian-backed governor Mikhail Razvozjayev.
Sevastopol is the home port of the Russian Black Sea fleet.
– Ships of the Black Sea Fleet intercepted a UVA (unmanned aerial vehicle) in the Sevastopol bay. No structures in the city were affected. The situation is under control, writes Razvozjajev on Telegram.
Now the British Defense Forces are responding.
– To hide its disastrous handling of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry resorts to false claims of epic proportions. This made-up story tells more about what happens in the Russian government than the West, the UK Defense Ministry said in a Twitter message.
According to the governor, the attacks should have started just before five o’clock last night and would have continued for several hours. Sevastopol authorities say the port is temporarily closed to boats and ferries.
– All the drones were shot down, says Razvozjajev.
The Ministry of Defense confirms that the marine minesweeper of the Black Sea fleet suffered minor injuries in the attack.
Several videos and images are circulating in both Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels, purporting to show explosions and smoke in Sevastapol. VG has checked the location of a video and a photo, but still can’t say for sure when they were taken.
Blaming Britain
In an orientation on Telegram supports the Russian Defense Ministry for British specialists to lead the preparations for the attack.
But not only:
At the same time, the Russian Defense Ministry accuses the British Navy of being behind it the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the month of September. They do not provide evidence for the allegations.
– According to available information, representatives of the British Navy participated in the planning and execution of the terrorist attack in the Baltic Sea on September 26, writes the ministry in a briefing on Telegram.
Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashenko writes on Telegram that the explosions are the result of careless handling of explosives.
– The Russians are so shocked that they still don’t know how to report this to Putin, he writes.
A total of 16 drones took part in the Ukrainian attack, as well as 7 marine drones, another 9 aerial drones, according to RIA.
