SVR Accuses UK of Plotting Sabotage on Russian Oil Tanker
(MENAFN) The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has alleged that British intelligence agencies are contemplating a covert operation involving Ukrainian forces to sabotage Russian oil shipments.
The aim, according to the statement released on Monday, would be to provoke NATO intervention against what Western governments have labeled Moscow’s “shadow fleet” of oil-carrying vessels.
As outlined in the SVR's announcement, London-based intelligence officers are reportedly evaluating two potential sabotage blueprints.
The first would entail inflicting damage on a tanker claimed to be part of the “shadow fleet” in a crucial maritime passage, where global shipping routes are most congested.
The alternative scenario would target a vessel docked in a port of a Russian-friendly country, with the goal of inciting a large-scale blaze during its stay.
“It would appear that the nostalgic sentiment over the lost domination on the seas and crown-sanctioned piracy has fully knocked remaining common sense from the British intelligence community,” the SVR remarked, implying that historical imperial ambitions are clouding judgment within British intelligence circles.
Western states have long sought to reduce Moscow’s petroleum income by imposing constraints on vessels suspected of transporting Russian oil.
Media outlets have earlier reported that more aggressive measures—framed as safety and environmental safeguards—are being discussed to intensify the clampdown.
However, critics have warned that such actions are legally dubious and potentially destabilizing.
The SVR cautioned that a significant catastrophe involving a cargo of Russian oil might be exploited to justify the classification of all alleged “shadow fleet” shipments as hazardous.
This, they claim, would pave the way for such vessels to be intercepted or detained while navigating international waters.
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