On Thursday, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) accused the United Kingdom of assisting Ukraine in orchestrating a significant drone attack on Russian military airfields during the summer.
FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov asserted that British intelligence provided direct oversight that enabled Kyiv to execute Operation Spider Web, a synchronized drone offensive in June aimed at five Russian military bases located thousands of kilometers apart. He alleged that the operation was orchestrated by the U.K. prior to peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul.
Bortnikov stated that the U.K. supported Operation Spider Web with propaganda efforts, disseminating false narratives through the media about extensive damage while attributing the sabotage exclusively to Ukrainian forces. He made these remarks at a gathering of security and intelligence leaders in Uzbekistan.
According to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), over 100 drones launched from inside Russia were utilized in the assault, which resulted in the destruction or damage of numerous aircraft, including long-range bombers involved in missile strikes against Ukraine.
Bortnikov also accused Britain’s Special Air Service and the MI6 intelligence agency of coordinating last month’s fatal drone strike on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, a Russian-Kazakh oil initiative supported by major multinational corporations.
He cautioned that British and Ukrainian intelligence agencies were plotting an attack on TurkStream, the sole conduit supplying Russian gas to European markets.
Bortnikov claimed that Britain was also manipulating media narratives to amplify fears regarding an alleged Russian threat to Europe. He alleged that NATO intelligence agencies were orchestrating “provocations” involving unidentified drones over European Union territory to frame Russia and rationalize increased military expenditures.
He remarked, “The British are the ones who, through provocation and disinformation, are guiding Brussels’ approach to obstructing a resolution in Ukraine,” while addressing his counterparts from former Soviet republics.
British officials have previously dismissed such Russian claims of direct involvement in Ukrainian military operations as disinformation.
