Russian ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin said the situation was’ becoming more and more dangerous’
(Picture: PA Archive)The Russian Ambassador to the UK has claimed he has evidence that British special forces helped launch a drone strike on Putin’s Black Sea Fleet which risked bringing the UK to the “line of no return”.
Moscow’s ambassador to the UK, Andrey Kelin, claimed British “specialists” had been involved in an audacious drone attack at the weekend in which three warships were reportedly damaged, including the flagship HMS Makarov.
Asked to provide evidence of Russia’s claims, Mr Kelin said: “We perfectly know about [the] participation of British specialists in [the] training, preparation and execution of violence against the Russian infrastructure and the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. We know that it has been done.”
When pressed by Sky’s Mark Austin, Mr Kelin said evidence had been handed to the British ambassador and added that “it will become public pretty soon”.
He added: “It is dangerous because it escalates the situation. It can bring us up to the line of I would say no return, return is always possible. But anyway, we should avoid escalation.
“And this is a warning actually that Britain is too deep in this conflict. It means the situation is becoming more and more dangerous.”
A UK Government spokesman said the Russian allegations were an attempt to “distract attention” for its illegal invasion of Ukraine and its continuing losses on the battlefield.
“We do not plan to give a running commentary on these allegations; it is no secret that the United Kingdom has taken a public lead in our support to Ukraine – this has been enduring since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014,” the spokesman added.
The drone attack led Moscow to suspend its involvement in a Black Sea grain deal. In a surprise move, Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that it would rejoin the deal, ending a deadlock that threatened to reignite a global food crisis.
It came as Russia says the world’s five nuclear powers are “on brink of armed conflict”.
Western capitals have said Moscow is behind a ramping up of nuclear rhetoric following its invasion of Ukraine in February - most recently by repeatedly accusing Kyiv of planning to use a radioactive “dirty bomb” without offering evidence. Kyiv has denied having any such plan.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it feared the five declared nuclear powers were teetering “on the brink of a direct armed conflict” and that the West must stop “encouraging provocations with weapons of mass destruction, which can lead to catastrophic consequences”.
Asked if 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 in [the] Ukrainian conflict.”
Mr Kelin said: “The nuclear war cannot be won and it should never be fought. And we stick strongly to this statement.”
