British Navy Involved In Nord Stream 2 'Terrorist Attack': Russia

<p>Britain's Royal Navy played a part in orchestrating and staging the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday, the media reported.</p> <p>The accusation follows the Russian Foreign Ministry's claim that NATO conducted a military exercise during the summer, close to the location where the undersea explosions occurred, RT reported.</p> <p>Writing on its official Telegram channel, the ministry alleged that Royal Navy operatives "took part in planning, supporting and implementing" a "terrorist attack" to blow up the gas pipelines on September 26.</p> <p>According to the Defence Ministry, the same British operatives were involved in the training of Ukrainian military personnel who recently attacked ships of Russia's Black Sea fleet, which were implementing a grain deal between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by the UN and Turkey, RT reported.</p> <p>The pipelines, which were built to deliver Russian natural gas directly to Germany, abruptly lost pressure on September 26, following a series of underwater explosions off the Danish island of Bornholm.</p> <p><strong>ALSO READ: <a title="EAM Jaishankar Meets UK Foreign Secretary Cleverly, Discusses Ukraine Conflict, Indo-Pacific Situation" href="https://ift.tt/LBWJfpV" target="_self">EAM Jaishankar Meets UK Foreign Secretary Cleverly, Discusses Ukraine Conflict, Indo-Pacific Situation</a></strong></p> <p>Both Western countries and Russia sounded the alarm about the incident, with Moscow denouncing it as a terrorist attack and calling for an investigation into the matter.</p> <p>In late September, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that this summer, NATO conducted military drills not far from Bornholm, which featured intensive use of "deep-sea equipment'' .</p> <p>Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal, citing German officials familiar with the investigation, reported that the blasts which damaged the pipelines were caused by sabotage.</p> <p>While the officials stopped short of naming the culprit, they were said to be "working under the assumption that Russia was behind the blasts".</p> <p><strong>ALSO READ: <a title="'India Has Been Victim Of Terrorism For Decades, Zero Tolerance Approach Should Continue': President Murmu At UN Meet" href="https://ift.tt/aPXBpwG" target="_self">'India Has Been Victim Of Terrorism For Decades, Zero Tolerance Approach Should Continue': President Murmu At UN Meet</a></strong></p> <p>Moscow has repeatedly denied that it had anything to do with the incident, RT reported.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Sky News has cited a UK defence official as saying Nord Stream 1 and 2 could have been damaged by a remotely detonated underwater explosive device.</p> <p>At that time, the broadcaster said the pipelines might have been breached by mines lowered to the seabed, or explosives dropped from a boat or planted by an undersea drone.</p> <p><em>(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)</em></p>