Russia accuses UK, EU of backing sabotage, attacks via Ukraine
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Russia’s intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin accused the UK, EU, and NATO members of escalating a comprehensive campaign against Moscow.
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Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergei Naryshkin attends the Security Council meeting on nuclear deterrence with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 (AP)
Russia's foreign intelligence chief has accused the United Kingdom and several leading European Union states of waging a full-scale campaign against Moscow, combining economic pressure with covert and military actions.
Speaking at a meeting of the Council of Heads of Security Agencies and Special Services of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Samarkand on Tuesday, Sergei Naryshkin, director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), said that Western powers are employing every possible means to undermine Russia.
"The UK and leading EU countries are using all available levers against Russia – from comprehensive measures of economic coercion to the organization of terrorist operations and military strikes on our territory by Ukrainian proxies," Naryshkin said.
He further said that following the sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in 2022, British intelligence agencies have continued to "test the limits of what is permissible" in Europe's maritime domains. "After the Nord Stream 2 bombing, the UK intelligence service is testing the limits of what is permissible against the EU, preparing sabotage in the Baltic and Black seas," the SVR chief asserted.
War preparations
Naryshkin's remarks coincided with broader statements he made at the same event, where he accused European NATO members of actively preparing for war with Russia. He said the alliance's European states have been instructed to urgently equip NATO's Allied Reaction Force with the resources needed for a large-scale conflict.
"We certainly see European NATO allies preparing for war with our country," he warned. "The task has been set to quickly provide the NATO Allied Reaction Force designated for this purpose with all necessary resources. A process has been launched to significantly increase the output of the European military-industrial complex."
Militarized Europe
He pointed to intensified Western military exercises and rearmament efforts, including NATO's recent Steadfast Noon nuclear drills across the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Denmark, as well as Germany's move to expand its fleet of US-made F-35A stealth fighters. The United Kingdom's new defense powers authorizing the military to shoot down unidentified drones were also cited as proof of "a militarized posture under the guise of deterrence."
According to Naryshkin, Western governments are not only bolstering their defenses but also conducting "propaganda campaigns among their populations about inevitable aggression from Moscow." He further alleged that some European leaders privately doubt the United States would honor its Article 5 commitments in the event of war, calling Europe's ambitions to secure "strategic superiority" over Russia unrealistic without full US involvement.
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Naryshkin's comments reflect Moscow's intensifying narrative that NATO's military buildup and rearmament across Europe are not defensive but preparatory steps for confrontation, reinforcing the Kremlin's claim that the conflict in Ukraine is part of a broader Western campaign to weaken Russia.
