The Foreign Ministry summoned Britain's ambassador to Russia on Thursday in connection with last week's Ukrainian attack targeting Russian military and civilian vessels in Sevastopol. The act of terrorism prompted Moscow to temporarily freeze its participation in the Black Sea grain export deal with Kiev.
Moscow summoned British Ambassador to Russia Deborah Bronnert in connection with London's suspected involvement in the October 29 attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the Foreign Ministry has revealed.
In a statement, the Ministry indicated that it had information that London transferred a number of unmanned underwater drones to Kiev, and that British specialists have been actively involved in the training and supply of Ukrainian special operations forces, including those involved in sabotage operations at sea.
Moscow warned that Britain's actions threaten to escalate the security crisis and lead to "unpredictable and dangerous consequences," and that such "hostile provocations" on London's part were "inadmissible" and must be stopped immediately.
"If such acts of aggression, fraught with (the UK's) direct involvement in the conflict, continue, the entire responsibility for their disastrous consequences and the growth of tensions in relations between our states will lie entirely on the British side," the Foreign Ministry said.
The Russian Black Sea Fleet port of Sevastopol repelled a massive drone attack on October 29, shooting down multiple UAVs and remote-controlled surface vessels in Sevastopol Bay. According to Russia's Defense Ministry, the warships attacked included ships providing security for the so-called 'grain corridor' - the secure maritime route agreed by Moscow and Kiev this summer through which cargo vessels carrying grain from Ukrainian ports through the Black Sea for export abroad.
The Russian military later retrieved drone wreckage from the sea floor to examine the remains, finding Canadian-made navigation modules installed on the maritime drones. Preparations for the drone attack were carried out under the guidance of British specialists in the Ukrainian port city of Ochakov, according to the Russian MoD. Russia destroyed a multi-million pound British-built and financed military base in Ochakov in a missile strike in February during the opening stages of its military operation in Ukraine.
Third Major Act of Sabotage With London's Fingerprints All Over it
The Sevastopol attack is the second time in weeks that Moscow has called out London on terrorism-related charges. Last week, Russia's Defense Ministry concluded that the Royal Navy took part in the planning, organization and execution of the late September attacks on the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline network.
On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova asked London to explain the mysterious "It's done" iPhone text message reportedly sent by now former Prime Minister Liz Truss to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken just moments after Nord Stream was struck.
Earlier this year, Ukrainian and Western media reported that Moscow and Kiev appeared to be on the brink of a peace agreement this spring, but that (now former) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was quickly dispatched to the Ukrainian capital to scuttle any potential agreement.
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