Russia on Wednesday accused US and British intelligence services of direct involvement in the attack by Ukrainian forces on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea last Friday.
The attack was “carried out at the request of the American and British secret services and in close coordination with them,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, as quoted by the French agency AFP.
Zakharova said Russian authorities have “no doubt” that the attack “was planned in advance, with the help of Western intelligence services, NATO satellite equipment and reconnaissance aircraft.”
Ukraine said it had killed about 30 officers in the attack on its headquarters in Sevastopol, including the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Viktor Sokolov.
According to AFP, the United States and Britain have not yet responded to Russia’s accusations.
“The obvious purpose of such terrorist acts is to divert attention from the failed attempts at a counter-offensive” by Ukrainian forces, Zakharova said, quoted by Russia’s TASS agency.
The attacks are also intended to “intimidate people and create panic in our society,” he added, noting that this will not be successful.
Ukrainian forces have been waging a counter-offensive since June after receiving new weapons supplies from Western allies.
The operations focused on southern and eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have concentrated after being pushed back from other regions following the February 24, 2022, invasion.
Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, is the focus of Russia’s military offensive, both to supply troops occupying southern Ukraine and to launch attacks.
Ukraine has intensified attacks on Crimea and the Black Sea Fleet in recent weeks.
Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the death of the fleet commander in the September 22 attack.
“There is no information on this matter from the Ministry of Defense,” Kremlin spokesman (presidency) Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.
The Russian Defense Ministry released images of Sokolov during a video conference the same day, but without any reference to his name in the statement about the meeting, which was chaired by Minister Serguei Shoigu.
After this, the Ukrainian special operations forces announced that they were clarifying information with sources in Crimea, admitting that it was difficult to identify the victims.
The Russian military’s Zvezda television channel today released a short, undated video interview, reportedly by Sokolov, in which he praised the successes of the troops under his command, according to AFP.
The French news agency added that it was not possible to verify the veracity or date of the images.
Source: DN
