In an interview with Sky’s Mark Austin, diplomat Andrei Kelin claimed he had “proof” that UK special forces were involved in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Crimea and had handed evidence to the British ambassador. Asked to provide evidence of Russia’s claims, Mr Kelin said: “We know very well [the] involvement of British experts in [the] training, preparation and execution of violence against Russian infrastructure and the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. We know it has been done.” Image: Andrei Kelin meets Sky’s Mark Austin Putin ‘weakened’ after ‘disastrous mistake’ – latest updates Pressed to provide evidence to the public about Moscow’s accusation that the attack on the Russian fleet in the Black Sea was carried out under the direction and leadership of British naval experts, Mr Kelin said he had handed himself over to the British ambassador and added that “it will be publicly very soon,” maybe today, maybe tomorrow. He added: “It is dangerous because it escalates the situation. It can bring us to the line of I would say there is no going back, going back is always possible. But anyway, we should avoid escalation. “And this is a warning actually that Britain is very deep in this conflict. It means the situation is getting more and more dangerous.” Image: Russia’s ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin Claims distracting from military failures, UK says The UK government has said such claims are false and designed to distract from Russia’s military failures in Ukraine. Moscow has cast Britain as a particularly insidious Western foil in Russia. President Vladimir Putin has said that the UK plans to destroy Russia and destroy its vast natural resources. The ambassador denies that Moscow would use nuclear weapons Speaking after Russia accused the West of “encouraging provocations with weapons of mass destruction”, Mr Kelin denied Moscow would use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Mr. Kelin said: “Nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. And we stand firmly by that statement.” Asked whether Moscow could use a tactical nuclear weapon in the conflict, Mr Kelin replied: “No. The world has every assurance that Russia is not going to use [a] tactical nuclear weapon [the] Ukrainian conflict”. Image: Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile fired during nuclear drills Moscow has stepped up its nuclear rhetoric since invading Ukraine, most recently accusing Kyiv of planning to use a “dirty bomb,” though it offered no evidence. Kyiv has denied having such a plan. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it feared the five declared nuclear powers were “on the brink of immediate armed conflict”. He added: “We are convinced that in the present complex and turbulent situation, caused by irresponsible and brazen actions aimed at undermining our national security, the most immediate task is to avoid any military conflict of nuclear forces.”
