Russia, without providing evidence, has repeatedly blamed the UK for Saturday’s audacious attack, in which a swarm of drones attacked Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Russian officials claimed a Royal Navy unit directed operations from the southern Ukrainian port of Ochakiv. The UK has dismissed it as “false claims on an epic scale”. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said: “These actions were carried out under the guidance of British experts. In this regard, the British ambassador will soon be summoned to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” He said Bronnert would be presented with evidence of British involvement in the strike. The drone attack prompted Moscow to suspend its participation in a Black Sea grain deal. In a surprise move, Russia’s defense ministry said on Wednesday it would rejoin the deal, ending a stalemate that threatened to reignite a global food crisis. The Kremlin has recently stepped up its aggressive rhetoric towards the UK, also accusing the Royal Navy of “directing and coordinating” attacks on the Nord Stream undersea gas pipelines in September. On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov threatened Britain with unspecified consequences for its alleged actions. “Such actions cannot be brushed aside. Of course, we will think about further steps. It certainly can’t stay like this,” Peskov said. Britain has previously said Moscow made the accusations to play down its failed military campaign in Ukraine. “To play down its disastrous handling of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defense is resorting to false claims on an epic scale,” the British Ministry of Defense said. “This fabricated story says more about the arguments going on inside the Russian government than it does about the West.” A Western official told Reuters on Wednesday that Russia’s allegation of UK involvement in the attacks on Crimea and the Nord Stream pipelines was an attempt by Vladimir Putin to “distract attention from the war in Ukraine”. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “He’s been weakened by this really catastrophic mistake,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We see the Russian army humiliated on the battlefield by Ukraine.”
