Russia says UK navy blew up Nord Stream, London denies involvement By Reuters

By Man Faulconbridge and Sachin Ravikumar

LONDON (Reuters) -Russia’s defence ministry stated on Saturday that British navy personnel blew up the Nord Stream fuel pipelines final month, a declare that London stated was false and designed to distract from Russian navy failures in Ukraine.

Russia didn’t give proof for its declare {that a} main NATO member had sabotaged essential Russian infrastructure amid the worst disaster in relations between the West and Russia for the reason that depths of the Chilly Struggle.

The Russian ministry stated that “British specialists” from the identical unit directed Ukrainian drone assaults on ships of Russian Black Sea fleet in Crimea earlier on Saturday that it stated had been largely repelled by Russian forces, with minor injury to a Russian minesweeper.

“Based on obtainable data, representatives of this unit of the British Navy took half within the planning, provision and implementation of a terrorist assault within the Baltic Sea on September 26 this 12 months – blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 fuel pipelines,” the ministry stated.

Britain denied the declare.

“To detract from their disastrous dealing with of the unlawful invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defence is resorting to peddling false claims of an epic scale,” it stated.

“This invented story, says extra about arguments occurring contained in the Russian authorities than it does concerning the West.”

Russia has beforehand blamed the West for the explosions that ruptured the Russian-built Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines on the mattress of the Baltic Sea.

But it surely had not beforehand given particular particulars of who it thinks was answerable for the injury to the pipelines, beforehand the biggest routes for Russian fuel provides to Europe.

A pointy drop in strain on each pipelines was registered on Sept. 26 and seismologists detected explosions, triggering a wave of hypothesis about sabotage to one in every of Russia’s most essential vitality corridors.

Reuters has not been in a position to instantly confirm any of the conflicting claims about who was responsible for the injury.

PIPELINE MYSTERY

Sweden and Denmark have each concluded that 4 leaks on Nord Stream 1 and a pair of had been brought on by explosions, however haven’t stated who is perhaps accountable. NATO Secretary-Normal Jens Stoltenberg has referred to as the injury an act of sabotage.

Sweden has ordered extra investigations to be carried out into the injury accomplished to the pipelines, the prosecutor accountable for the case stated in an announcement on Friday.

The Kremlin has repeatedly stated allegations of Russian duty for the injury had been “silly” and Russian officers have stated Washington had a motive because it desires to promote extra liquefied (LNG) to Europe.

America has denied involvement.

The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines have a joint annual capability of 110 billion cubic metres – greater than half of Russia’s regular fuel exports volumes.

Sections of the 1,224-km (760-mile) lengthy pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany, lie at a depth of round 80-110 metres.

Russia stated in the meantime that Ukrainian forces attacked ships from the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, the largest metropolis in Russian-annexed Crimea, within the early hours of Saturday.

“9 unmanned aerial automobiles and 7 autonomous marine drones had been concerned within the assault,” the defence ministry stated.

“The preparation of this terrorist act and the coaching of servicemen of the Ukrainian 73rd Particular Middle for Naval Operations had been carried out beneath the steering of British specialists positioned within the city of Ochakiv.”

All of the air drones had been destroyed although minor injury was accomplished to the minesweeper Ivan Golubets, the ministry stated. Sevastopol is the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.