A small release from Nord Stream 2 is seen, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022.
photo: Swedish Coast Guard via AP
Once again, Moscow accused Britain of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
"Our intelligence services have data indicating that British military specialists were directing and coordinating the attack," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a group of journalists.
Earlier Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States of attacking Nord Stream 1 and 2. Putin claimed Washington attacked to cut off Europe's access to cheap energy and sell its gas at higher prices, calling the move an "act of international terrorism" that "undermines the energy security of the entire continent."
Peskov also pointed out that "the Russian intelligence services have evidence indicating that the attack was supervised and coordinated by British military experts."
In addition, he stressed that "these actions cannot be left without a response, saying, "We will think about the measures that will be taken." He also denounced what he described as the "unacceptable silence of European capitals."
The Russian Defense, in turn, announced last week that "representatives of a British naval unit in planning and logistics participated in carrying out the terrorist act in the Baltic Sea on September 26 to sabotage the work of the two gas pipelines," without providing public evidence for this accusation.
The British Defense Ministry denied the accusation in a tweet. It said Russia seeks to cast a shadow on its failures in Ukraine by accusing the UK of sabotage.
Four major leaks were detected on February 26 in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines off the Danish Island of Bornholm, two in the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone, and two in Denmark waters. Preliminary investigations under the sea supported the sabotage hypothesis since explosions preceded the leak.
The Nord Stream gas pipeline has been Russia's way to bypass or mitigate European sanctions. The two pipelines linking Russia and Germany have been at the center of geopolitical tensions after Moscow decided to cut gas supplies to Europe in response to Western sanctions imposed on it, for the military operation it launched on its western neighbor on February 24.