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Russia has accused Britain of getting “too deep” into the conflict in Ukraine, warning it risks a “dangerous” escalation of the crisis. Andrey Kelin, Russia’s ambassador to the UK, claimed British “experts” were involved in a daring drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea fleet at the weekend in which three warships were reportedly damaged, including the flagship HMS Makarov. After Britain’s ambassador to Moscow, Deborah Bronnert, was earlier summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry over the allegations, Mr Kelin said the Kremlin would release its evidence “very soon”. “We are well aware of the involvement of British specialists in the training, preparation and execution of plans against Russian infrastructure and the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. We know it has been done,” he said. “It’s dangerous. It could bring us to the line of I would say no return – a return is always possible – but we should avoid escalation. “This is a warning actually that Britain is very deep in this conflict. It means the situation is getting more and more dangerous.” Mr Kelin said Russia was also continuing to investigate the explosions that destroyed the Nord Stream 1 and 2 undersea gas pipelines in September, adding that UK special forces had been involved in training Ukrainians in the use of explosives and undersea drones. . It is widely suspected in the West that the explosions were the work of the Russians themselves in an attempt to increase pressure on European countries from rising energy prices. A UK government spokesman said the Russian claims were an attempt to “distract attention” from its illegal invasion of Ukraine and its ongoing battlefield casualties. “We do not intend to comment on these allegations at this time. It’s no secret that the UK has taken a public lead in our support for Ukraine – this has been the case since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014,” the spokesman added. Earlier Western officials said President Vladimir Putin was likely to come under increasing pressure from nationalist hardliners as he prepared to withdraw Russian forces from the key Ukrainian city of Kherson. At least some reservists arrive in theater without weapons Western official Officials said planning to withdraw forces from the city to the Dnipro River appeared to be progressing well, as a large percentage of the civilian population had already been moved. But while officials expect it will be presented by the Kremlin as a humanitarian evacuation rather than a military retreat, they believe it will not prevent further criticism of the conduct of the war. “When he goes ahead, we can expect another uptick in intense criticism of the Russian national leadership,” a Western official said. “A key task for us will be to continue to monitor how this affects Putin’s credibility. For now, he seems to be continuing to successfully deflect his pointed barbs at his lieutenants.” Without the guns and rocket launchers firing, everything else has stopped Western official The assessment comes as a former Putin ally – head of the notorious Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin – stepped up his criticism of the Russian leader. In a statement earlier this week he lavishly praised Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky – who is routinely denounced by Moscow as a neo-Nazi drug addict – as a “strong and confident leader”. Officials said that while more troops were arriving in theater in an apparent effort to shore up their defensive positions, many were newly mobilized reservists who were often “unfortunately equipped and prepared.” “In Kherson, it is likely that most echelons of command have now withdrawn across the river leaving demoralized and leaderless men to face Ukrainian attacks. At least some reservists are arriving in theater without weapons,” an official said. Officials said the Russians were also “critically short” of ammunition – including artillery shells with additional supplies even from North Korea. “Without firing the guns and rocket launchers, everything else has stopped,” an official said. Meanwhile, the Treasury introduced legislation aimed at imposing a price cap on Russian oil agreed by the G7 and Australia earlier this year. The move will ban British insurance, brokerage and shipping companies from participating in Russian oil transport services unless it is bought below the cap, which is intended to starve Mr Putin’s administration of cash.
