Russia says Ukraine has carried out a “massive” drone attack on a Black Sea fleet in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, damaging a warship.
Nine drones were used, a senior official said. Ukraine did not comment.
Without providing evidence, Russia accused British troops of involvement in Saturday’s attack – and in blowing up gas pipelines last month.
In its response, the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) said Russia was “making false claims of an epic scale”.
Russia said the ships targeted in Saturday’s attack were involved in an internationally-brokered deal to allow grain exports from Ukrainian ports, and hours later it announced it was withdrawing its sanctions. Suspending participation.
The attack comes as Ukrainian troops have successfully recaptured territory held by Russian troops since the start of their offensive on February 24.
Russia has responded by launching large-scale attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure, particularly the country’s energy grid.
Crimea was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014 and is highly symbolic for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In recent weeks, several attacks have targeted the peninsula, where the Russian military maintains a large presence.
Sevastopol is the largest city in the region and home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
The city’s Russian-installed governor, Mikhail Razozhaiev, said Russia’s navy had repelled the latest attack, the “biggest” on the city since February.
He said all unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) had been shot down and no “civilian infrastructure” was damaged.
The Russian Defense Ministry said at least one of the aircraft suffered minor damage.
“While repelling a terrorist attack on the outer road to Sevastopol, using naval weapons and the Black Sea Fleet destroyed four maritime unmanned vehicles, three more were destroyed on the inner roadstead”. Ministry read.
The Ukrainian government rarely comments on claims by Russian officials in Crimea, although senior officials often celebrate events on the peninsula.
Ukraine has vowed to recapture all Russian-held territory, including Crimea, which has been a key base for President Putin’s forces during the invasion of Ukraine.
Without providing any evidence, the Russian Defense Ministry also accused British naval experts of helping Ukrainian forces prepare for an attack on Saturday morning.
It also said the same unit was “involved in the planning, organization and execution of a terrorist attack in the Baltic Sea on September 26 this year to blow up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines”.
In response, the MoD said: “To cover up their disastrous handling of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defense is resorting to false claims on an epic scale.
“This invented story says more about the arguments within the Russian government about the West.”
In recent days, Russia has engaged in what US and Ukrainian officials describe as a disinformation campaign, with claims that Kyiv is preparing to use a radioactive dirty bomb, or even biological mosquitoes. .
Russia also claimed that the ships targeted on Saturday morning were involved in securing the “Green Corridor” as part of an international initiative to export agricultural products from Ukrainian ports.
The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, allowed Ukraine to resume Black Sea grain exports, which had been halted after Russia invaded the country. It was personally negotiated by the UN Secretary General and celebrated as a major diplomatic victory that helped alleviate the global food crisis.
But Russia complains that its own exports are still hampered, and has previously suggested it may not renew the deal.
In recent days, Kyiv has accused Moscow of deliberately delaying the passage of ships, leading to a queue of more than 170 vessels.
