Russia accuses UK, Ukraine of sabotage plot against TurkStream
3 Min Read
Russia accuses the UK and Ukraine of plotting sabotage against the vital TurkStream pipeline.
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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center right, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin, center, along with Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic, center second right, Bulgarias's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, left of Putin, and Russian Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, second left from Putin, and other officials symbolically open a valve during a ceremony in Istanbul for the inauguration of the TurkStream pipeline, on January 8, 2020. (AP)
Russia has accused the United Kingdom and Ukraine of attempting coordinated sabotage operations against the TurkStream gas pipeline, a vital conduit transporting Russian natural gas to Turkey and European markets.
During the 57th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) session in Uzbekistan, Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov revealed some of the details behind the plot.
According to Bortnikov, British instructors from the Special Air Service (SAS) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), in coordination with Ukrainian intelligence, are actively planning a series of attacks targeting Russian energy infrastructure. These operations reportedly include drone strikes on the TurkStream pipeline, as well as attacks on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, a multi-national venture with Russian, Kazakh, and US shareholders.
Bortnikov said that the UK has been directly involved in training and coordinating these sabotage groups.
"Together with MI6, they are coordinating Ukrainian sabotage groups to carry out raids in Russia’s border regions, targeting critical infrastructure using drones, unmanned boats, and combat divers," FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov stated.
The FSB director further revealed that British intelligence orchestrated Ukraine’s SBU “Spider Web” operation conducted on June 2, 2025, prior to Ukraine–Russia talks in Istanbul. Bortnikov said the UK managed a propaganda campaign exaggerating the operation’s impact and attributing it solely to Ukraine. In addition, Russian authorities reported a series of FPV drone attacks in June on airfields across Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions.
Read more: Ukrainian drones in DPR carried banned Chloropicrin: FSB
Failed attacks on TurkStream
These remarks follow earlier reports of Ukrainian plans to target TurkStream. In November 2024, German media outlet Der Spiegel reported that former Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander Valerii Zaluzhny had proposed a plan codenamed “Diameter,” modeled on the 2022 Nord Stream sabotage, to target the pipeline. The plan reportedly failed, and no independent evidence has confirmed its execution.
Russia has also intercepted multiple drone attacks on TurkStream infrastructure in January 2025, which were described by Moscow as acts of “energy terrorism,” though the facilities continued normal operations. Additionally, Russian forces shot down three more Ukrainian drones in early March following another attempted strike on a TurkStream compressor station.
TurkStream remains a strategic energy artery for Europe, delivering Russian natural gas to Turkey and several European nations. Any disruption to its operation could have serious consequences for regional energy security.
Read more: Ukrainian arrested for suspected involvement in Nord Stream attacks
