Sir Keir Starmer has attacked Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, accusing the country of “treating [its] own citizens as bits of meat to fling into the grinder”.
Speaking at the United Nations Security Council in New York – and sat opposite a Russian representative – the British prime minister accused the state of committing “the greatest violation of the [UN] charter in a generation”.
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Sir Keir said: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is illegal. It threatens global security. And it has caused colossal human suffering.
“Over 35,000 civilians have been killed or injured, six million forced to flee and almost 20,000 Ukrainian children forcefully deported – kidnapped, to put it bluntly.
“Six hundred thousand Russian soldiers have also been killed or wounded in this war. And for what?”
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The prime minister questioned how Russia could “show its face in this building”, adding: “The UN Charter, which they sit here to uphold, speaks of human dignity – not treating your own citizens as bits of meat to fling into the grinder.”
He called for “accountability”, telling the council: “There must be accountability. Aggression cannot pay. Borders cannot be redrawn by force.
“Russia started this illegal war. It must end it – and get out of Ukraine.”
Sir Keir also reiterated his calls for ceasefires in the conflicts between Israel, Lebanon and Gaza, and in Sudan, saying there needed to be “political solutions that can break repeating cycles of violence”.
“In this moment of deepening conflict, the world looks to this council more than ever, to provide leadership for peace, preserve our collective security and protect the most vulnerable,” he added.
“The United Kingdom will always play its full part in fulfilling that responsibility.”
A British citizen, who was freed in the biggest prisoner exchange with Russia since the Cold War, has urged people not to “mix up Vladimir Putin’s regime with Russia”.
Speaking in Bonn, Germany, Vladimir Kara-Murza was critical of how the Russian president rules the country, which he said, does not represent the entire population.
“The difference between dictatorships and democracies is that human life is sacred in democracies,” Mr Kara-Murza said.
Mentioning the war in Ukraine – which the Kremlin refers to as its special military operation – Mr Kara-Murza added: “Kremlin propaganda wants to make it seem that every person in Russia supports the war in Ukraine, this is a lie.
“Please do not allow yourselves to be persuaded that this Kremlin lie has anything to do with real life.”
Image: Vladimir Kara-Murza speaking in Germany. Pic: Reuters
He added: “I know I will return to Russia, the day will come when Russia is free.”
Mr Kara-Murza spoke alongside Ilya Yashin and Andrei Pivovarov who were also released as part of the prisoner swap deal between the US and Russia.
He said he was “sincerely glad to be free”, adding the days since his release have felt like “some kind of movie”.
Image: (L-R) Andrei Pivovarov, Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza. Pic: X/@vkaramurza
The British-Russian national was serving a 25-year sentence for treason.
Fellow released prisoners Mr Pivovarov and Mr Yashin were equally critical of President Putin’s regime.
Image: Vladimir Kara-Murza in custody. File pic: Reuters
Mr Pivovarov encouraged leaders of Western countries to “turn to the people, not the power”, adding: “We should do everything to make our country free and democratic.” while Mr Yashin said his aim is to return to Russia and work for a “free” country.
Some two dozen people from countries including Russia, the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Belarus were exchanged on Thursday.
The swap also included US Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and US marine Paul Whelan.
Those returned to Russia included a “sleeper cell” couple, prolific cybercriminals and an assassin.
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Britain’s armed forces must have the ability to confront a “deadly quartet” of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, the surprise pick to lead a major review of the UK’s shrunken defences has warned.
Lord Robertson, a former Labour defence secretary and former NATO chief, is being brought back to frontline military policy by Sir Keir Starmer after he led Labour’s last Strategic Defence Review (SDR) more than a quarter of a century ago.
In another novel twist, the government on Tuesday announced two other external experts will work with the peer on crafting the new blueprint for the future shape and size of the armed forces.
They include Fiona Hill, a former foreign policy adviser to the Donald Trump White House who testified against the former president during his impeachment trial.
Image: Fiona Hill after testifying at the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump. File pic: Reuters
Her appointment could draw criticism from Mr Trump – who could well be elected back into power later this year – just as the new prime minister and his top team stress the importance of the transatlantic alliance.
Ms Hill, a leading expert on Russia who is British but has US citizenship, has previously likened Mr Trump to President Vladimir Putin. He has said about her: “She doesn’t know the first thing she’s talking about. If she didn’t have the accent, she would be nothing.”
Speaking about the new role, Ms Hill said: “This review could not be more timely given the current global turmoil and rapid technological change. I am honoured to participate in this important and critical exercise.”
The third outside reviewer is General Sir Richard Barrons, a highly-regarded four-star general once tipped to be the head of the armed forces, but who left the military in 2016.
Speaking at a press conference to talk about the launch of the government’s new defence review, Lord Robertson said he and his team would aim to provide “fresh thinking” as he set out what he called the “threats and challenges” the nation faces.
“We’re confronted by a deadly quartet of nations increasingly working together,” he said.
“We in this country and the NATO alliance … have got to be able to confront that particular quartet as well as the other problems that are pervading the world.”
The description of China as “deadly” is far stronger than the more nuanced language used by the previous government about Beijing.
Lord Robertson did not identify the quartet by name but the other three countries are thought to be Russia, Iran and North Korea.
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John Healey, the current defence secretary, said the external team would work with the “deep expertise” inside the Ministry of Defence on a review that he promised would be delivered “at pace” within the first half of next year. They will also draw on submissions from academia, think tanks and even journalists.
He said the UK needed a “new era for defence”. Yet he still faces the same old problems of a military that has been hollowed out by decades of cost-saving cuts and with limited finances available to deliver the transformation that will be needed.
The government has pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income from about 2.2% at present, but has failed to offer any kind of timeline.
Mr Healey, speaking candidly alongside Lord Robertson, said even such an uplift in expenditure would not be a “magic wand” that would fix all problems.
“Because if we simply use additional funding to relieve some of the pressures in present programmes and plans, we will fail to get to grips with the very serious situation we face and the changes we must make to be better fit to fight in the future, better able to defend Britain, and better able to deter the threats that we may face in the future as well.”
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Mr Healey also revealed a desire for the wider defence sector to play a much larger role in the government’s plans to boost economic growth.
“In many ways, defence is the untold story of economic growth and the economic engine in Britain,” he said, noting that the average wage is 40% higher than other manufacturing sectors, while 70% of defence industry jobs are outside London and the South East.
“So, for a government that wants to drive growth, improve productivity and spread wealth creation, defence is one of the cornerstones of a new industrial strategy.”
Russia’s Vladimir Putin does not want a direct war with NATO and he does not want a nuclear war, the head of the UK armed forces has said.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin also signaled that Moscow and Beijing lack the military proficiency” to defeat the kind of barrage of drones and missiles that the United States and its allies destroyed in April when Iran attempted to attack Israel.
In an interview to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings of the Second World War, the Chief of the Defence Staff sought to strike a reassuring tone that a third global conflict was not imminent, despite things becoming what he described as “a bit more dangerous”.
But Admiral Radakin said he believed the British public would again rise to the challenge should there ever be another existential threat like the one once posed by Nazi Germany.
“Absolutely! I think our nation has got that pride, it has got that commitment,” he said.
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The admiral – who was unable to answer specific questions on UK defence issues because of the general election campaign – was speaking in front of the original map that was used to help plan “Operation Overlord”, the codename for the allied invasion of occupied France.
It covers the entire wall of a room at Southwick House, near Portsmouth, where US General Dwight Eisenhower, along with Britain’s General Bernard Montgomery and Admiral Bertram Ramsay, agreed on the ultimate timing for D-Day on 6 June 1944 – after a 24-hour delay because of bad weather.
General Eisenhower “got to the point, apparently with the rain lashing against the windows here, and he said: ‘Ok let’s go’,” Admiral Radakin said.
In what remains the biggest ever seaborn attack, some 150,000 soldiers landed on the Normandy beaches on the first day, backed by 7,000 ships and more than 2,000 aircraft.
“What we can learn from it is that when nations come together, you can do amazing things,” the UK defence chief said.
Image: President Biden has recently permitted Ukraine’s armed forces to use US-supplied weapons on targets inside Russia. Pic: AP
While not at the same level, he drew similarities between allied action against the Nazis and how western nations are rallying to help Ukraine fight Russia‘s invasion today.
“It is all of those things for the simplicity of bringing peace back to the people of Ukraine.”
Admiral Radakin, who is known for having an optimistic outlook, insisted that Russia is “failing” in Ukraine even as Russian forces have launched a new invasion into the northeast region of Kharkiv, where they have recaptured territory as Ukrainian troops suffer from a shortage in ammunition and manpower.
“Russia is making tactical advances on land,” the head of the UK military said.
“But you’ve got to then step back a little. If you go back to March 2022, Russia had taken about 17% of Ukraine’s territory. Today it’s got 11%. So Russia is still in deficit.”
Asked whether he was confident that Ukraine would prevail, Admiral Radakin said: “I’m, hugely confident…
“By the end of June, Russia will have lost 500,000 people – killed and wounded. We are already past 800 days for a war that Putin anticipated to be three days long. This is tough for Ukraine, but we have to maintain our support.”
Admiral Radakin was speaking before the US and other allies publicly backed Ukraine using western weapons to strike military targets inside Russia – a move that has escalated tensions even further between the West and Moscow.
However, he sounded very confident that the Kremlin was not looking for direct confrontation with members of the NATO alliance.
Image: Pic: AP
“Putin does not want a war with NATO. Putin does not want a nuclear war. And we have enormous overmatch because of the strength of NATO.”
As for the potential for an imminent third world war, the military chief was also sanguine: “The world has got a bit more dangerous. But we should be reassured by all that we’ve got in place.”
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He spoke about a moment in April when the US, the UK and other allies mobilized in support of the Israeli military to avert a wider Middle East war after Iran decided to launch a major strike against Israel in retaliation for an Israeli attack against an Iranian facility in Syria.
Admiral Radakin said the Iranian regime launched more than 100 ballistic missiles, nearly 200 drones and tens of cruise missiles – which were defeated.
“If I look at that and I compare that to other big events militarily, then actually only the US, with its allies, I think have got that ability,” he said.
“I don’t think our potential adversaries would have been able to respond in the way that you saw on the evening of 13 April.”
Asked specifically if Moscow or Beijing could have done it, he said: “I think the US leadership and the proficiency that we have with our allies is at a level above our potential foes.”
Britain plans to equip its armed forces with a homegrown hypersonic cruise missile by the end of the decade, according to a report.
Military chiefs are under pressure to catch up with China, Russia and the US by developing a weapon capable of flying at speeds higher than Mach 5 – five times the speed of sound, according to The Sunday Telegraph.
The Ministry of Defence wants the missile to be designed and built in the UK and to enter service by 2030.
Plans are at an early stage, the newspaper reported, although there is no decision on whether the missile will be launched from land, sea or air.
It comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product on defence by 2030.
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Ballistic weapons can also reach hypersonic speeds but the difference is in manoeuvrability – ballistic weapons generally have fixed paths but the path of a hypersonic weapon can be changed after launch, making it difficult to destroy.
The US, Russia and China are the main players in the hypersonic weapons race but other countries, such as North Korea, claim to have tested hypersonic weapons.
Read more: Sean Bell: Putin’s ‘undefeatable’ missile was a costly illusion US tests hypersonic weapon with speeds ‘five times greater than speed of sound’
The development of hypersonic capabilities is part of Pillar Two of AUKUS – a defence and security pact between the UK, Australia and the US.
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Last month the US tested a hypersonic cruise missile on an atoll in the Marshall Islands in a message to its rival in the Pacific – China. It is the latest in a number of hypersonic weapons tests the country has completed in recent years.
A spokesperson for the MoD would not comment in detail on the development of Britain’s hypersonic missile capability, citing national security, but confirmed “hypersonic technologies to further develop UK sovereign advanced capabilities” were being pursued.
“We continue to invest in our equipment to meet current and future threats,” they added.
Lord Cameron says he wants Ukraine’s allies to “do more” to help defeat Russia and that together they “outmatch” President Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Speaking to Sky News at a security conference in Munich, the foreign secretary said Ukraine’s partners outmatched Russia “25 to one” and that they’ve “got to make that difference count”.
Lord Cameron said: “What I’m clear about is that Britain is absolutely in the lead of providing support [to Ukraine]. The first to provide so many different weapons systems and, of course, first to give the new security guarantees to Ukraine. Now others are following that.
“But most of all… look at what Ukraine’s allies have. If you add up our economies, we outmatch Russia 25 to one. We’ve got the ability to give that diplomatic, military, economic, moral support. We’ve just got to make that difference count.”
The former prime minister again urged the US to approve more aid funding for Ukraine, having already pushed for Congress to go ahead with a proposed $61bn (£49bn) funding package.
The funding package bill has passed through the Senate but faces a deeply uncertain future in the House of Representatives, where hardline Republicans oppose the legislation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, criticised the bill for lacking conservative provisions to stem a record flow of migrants across the US-Mexico border.
Speaking about aid to Ukraine, Lord Cameron said. “Are we doing enough at the moment? No, I want us to do more.
“I know that Britain is doing what it can. The European Union has voted through its package to give massive support to Ukraine. We now need the US Congress to do the same.”
“If all those three things line up, I think that will make a real difference and demonstrate to Putin he can’t wait us out. He’s not going to win by testing our patience.”
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0:35
Russian people speak out after Navalny dies
The former prime minister’s comments come after Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s newly appointed commander-in-chief, said his forces were retreating from the frontline city of Avdiivka to “avoid encirclement” by Russian troops.
“Of course, things that happen in Ukraine, that’s for the Ukraine armed forces to decide,” Lord Cameron added.
“But I would point you towards the Black Sea, where yet again, another Russian ship has been sunk by incredibly brave Ukrainian action.
“And on the Black Sea, the Russian fleet has been pushed right back across the Black Sea. Ukraine is exporting again. Its economy is growing again. And that is incredibly important news.”
Navalny was ‘incredibly brave man’
Lord Cameron was also asked about Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a chief critic of President Putin who was confirmed dead by prison authorities in Russia on Friday.
He called Navalny an “incredibly brave man” and added: “His life revealed so much about the truth of Putin’s ghastly regime, and his death has revealed that all over again.
“There should be consequences when appalling human rights outrages like this take place. What we do is, we look at whether there are individual people that are responsible and whether there are individual measures and actions that we can take.
“We don’t announce them in advance, so I can’t say any more than that – but that’s what we’ll be looking at,” Lord Cameron added.
“Of course, we’ve already summoned the ambassador and we’ve made clear our views about this dreadful event and the way this person was treated.”
Read more: Lord Cameron reacts after US congresswoman’s ‘kiss my a**’ jibe Who is Marjorie Taylor Greene – the congresswoman who said it?
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Republican congresswoman says Lord Cameron ‘can kiss my a**’ after his Congress plea
He added he would be having further discussions with other foreign ministers about Navalny’s death during the security conference and added: “We’ll be taking action, and I’ll be urging others to do the same.”
The prime minister said Russia would have hit “new lows” if it turns out that Moscow is responsible for what he described as the largest attack on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine since the start of the war, following the destruction of a critical dam.
Speaking en route to Washington, Rishi Sunak told reporters that the intelligence agencies had yet to make a definitive judgement on whether President Putin was behind the “appalling attack” on the Nova Kakhova dam as he condemned the incident.
“If it’s intentional, it would represent, I think, the largest attack on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine since the start of the war, and just demonstrate the new lows that we would have seen from Russian aggression,” he told the press ahead of his two-day trip to Washington.
War latest: US working to share intel on dam disaster
“Attacks on civilian infrastructure are appalling and wrong. We’ve seen previous instances of that in this conflict so far, but it’s too early to say definitively.”
The prime minister also said that the UK’s immediate response to this attack was to offer humanitarian assistance.
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Why is the PM going to Washington?
“We had already put resources and funding in place to support both the UN and the Red Cross to respond to situations like this,” he said. “And they are now being able to divert those resources to particularly help humanitarian response and the evacuation in this area as a result of what’s happened.”
As with the G7 in Japan but two weeks ago, the matter of Ukraine and how Western allies can best support Kyiv in its battle against Russia will be a central part of discussions between the UK and US leaders when Mr Sunak holds bi-lateral talks in the Oval Office on Thursday.
“One of the things the prime minister and President Biden will discuss is how we can sustain the huge level of global support for Ukraine while providing them with the capabilities they need, including air defence,” the prime minister’s spokesperson said ahead of the trip.
These discussions come as allies intensify support before Ukraine’s expected summer counteroffensive.
A big breakthrough came at the G7 last month when the US signalled it and allies would provide training and F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, a request President Zelenskyy hammered home to allies for months before the US moved.
Read more: Analysis: Dam attack could be most damaging single event of Ukraine war so far US intelligence “leaning towards” Moscow being behind Kyiv launches ‘offensive actions’ on frontline
Number 10 is keen to stress not just the Rishi Sunak reset after the testy era of the Boris Johnson and Liz Truss reigns, but the strengthening of relations between the US and UK under a Sunak premiership.
In his favour has been the resolution with the EU over post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland, and Mr Sunak’s steadfast support for Ukraine.
And this will certainly be a trip full of photo-ops to reinforce the “special relationship”. As well as the images of the prime minister on Capitol Hill and in the Oval Office finished off with a White House press conference, Mr Sunak will also attend the Washington Nationals baseball game as the guest of honour to celebrate the annual UK-US friendship day – although he won’t be throwing the ceremonial first pitch, instead leaving that task to a British veteran.
Image: Rishi Sunak with Joe Biden during his visit to Northern Ireland. Pic: Simon Walker / No 10
Image: Rishi Sunak talks with Joe Biden before a session on the first day of the G7 Leaders Summit in Japan. Pic: No 10
A prime minister with a background in finance and an interest in tech – he met his wife in California while studying at Stanford – Mr Sunak is trying to play to his strengths with his emphasis on greater economic interoperability and deeper trade ties, while also making a pitch to President Biden to get the UK more deeply involved in the regulation of AI.
But as he tries to forge a post-Brexit place in the world for the UK – Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak’s leadership on Ukraine an undoubted positive – London is disadvantaged: When it comes to AI, it is the US, China and the EU at the leading edge with the UK largely on the sidelines.
When it comes to trade, the Biden administration has put the much-vaunted US-UK free trade deal into the deep freeze, so much so that neither side plan to even raise it in these bilateral talks.
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1:31
Ukraine War: Major dam attack
While Mr Sunak will use the trip to try to drum up more US investment, with an announcement of £14bn of US backing into the UK and an address to the “business roundtable chief executive” forum, the absence of any trade deal is another broken Conservative manifesto promise.
Mr Johnson and his government had championed a US trade deal as a big Brexit bonus, while President Trump insisted in 2017 the UK was “at the front of the queue”.
It now appears that President Obama’s “back of the queue” warning ahead of the 2016 EU referendum is more apposite, with no timeline as to when, if ever, a bilateral trade deal will be dusted down.
“Neither side is pursuing a US free trade deal currently, but our trading relationship with the US is vital,” the prime minister’s spokesperson said.
Trade between the countries now stands at £279bn a year. Back in 2020, government analysis suggested a trade deal could increase trade – which then stood at £221bn – by £15.8bn and also said wages could get a long-term bounce worth £1.8bn from a US deal.
Image: Pic: AP
On Artificial Intelligence, the PM wants to take a lead in setting a regulatory framework, something he has raised as the G7, but post-Brexit, the UK has been locked out of key forums between the EU and The US where AI governance plans are negotiated on a bilateral basis. Britain’s requests for a similar dialogue with Washington have been repeatedly rebuffed, which has left Mr Sunak forced to pursue direct channels to president Biden, which he will do this week.
The PM hopes to make the UK the venue for an international summit on generative AI summit later in the year, and is also pushing for a new inter-governmental regulator for this emerging technology to be based in the UK.
And some do see a post-Brexit opportunity for Britain, offering the US a more flexible middle ground between the EU and US approach to standards and regulations, while also being potentially tougher on Beijing than Brussels might be.
AI could be a policy area where the UK could act as a transatlantic bridge between the US and Europe – if Mr Sunak can land it.
Darren Jones, chair of the business select committee, said a “key test” for the PM will be to “successfully pitch the UK as a useful partner that offers a different approach to the EU. Failure will leave us out of the room, not at the table and out in the cold.”
For the Prime Minister, the continue focus on Ukraine amplifies a global issue in which the UK has been able to demonstrate strong leadership post Brexit, and claim the US can work together on building stronger ties on trade and regulating AI.
But without a trade deal in sight, or even on the horizon, and struggling to insert the Uk into the EU-US discussions on AI, he really does have his work cut out.
Russian officials have attacked Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “hasty” visit to Europe – dismissing his speech to MPs in Westminster as “theatrical”.
The Ukrainian president made a surprise appearance in London, where he urged the UK and Western allies to provide “wings for freedom” by supplying advanced jets.
Mr Zelenskyy then travelled to Paris for talks over dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz – and he is expected to attend an EU summit in Brussels later today.
But in a strongly worded statement, the Russian embassy in London said: “Zelenskyy’s pompous solicitations about the values of ‘freedom’ and ‘human rights’, which Kiev claims to be fighting for, were overtly hypocritical.”
The embassy went on to mock “the ex-comedian in a green sweatshirt now on tour around Europe” – and also had a warning for the UK government.
“We would like to remind London: in the event of such a scenario the death toll of yet another round of escalation, as well as and its military-political consequences for the European continent and the whole world will be on the United Kingdom’s hands. Russia will know how to respond to any unfriendly actions by the British side,” it said.
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Zelenskyy awards Ukrainian troops in UK
Zelenskyy calls for more weapons
This morning, Mr Zelenskyy is set to address the European Parliament in what will be his third stop on a surprise trip across the continent.
While Mr Zelenskyy is unlikely to secure immediate pledges to satisfy his requests, this will be his first opportunity to make the case in person to EU member states since the war began almost a year ago.
It follows a powerful speech in Westminster Hall on Wednesday, followed by talks with the leaders of France and Germany over dinner in Paris.
Rishi Sunak has said “nothing is off the table” when it comes to assisting the war effort in Ukraine and fighter jets “are part of the conversation”.
Mr Zelenskyy received a standing ovation after his speech.
Later at a military site in Dorset alongside the Ukrainian president, the prime minister was asked “to provide absolute clarity” on whether Ukraine will receive jets from the UK and, if so, when.
“We’ve been very clear and we’ve been clear for a long time that when it comes to the provision of military assistance to Ukraine, nothing is off the table,” Mr Sunak said.
“When it comes to fighter combat aircraft of course they are part of the conversation.”
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0:41
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy meets King Charles
‘More military assistance needed’
After the Western world came together to agree on sending tanks to Ukraine, Kyiv is requesting warplanes to repel the Russian invasion.
Mr Zelenskyy told the news conference that without more military assistance “there will be stagnation, these people [Russian soldiers] will be living on our territory and this poses great risk to all of the world”.
Downing Street said the prime minister has asked Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to investigate what warplanes the UK could supply but stressed any potential move to do so would not happen immediately.
But according to Professor Michael Clarke, a defence and security analyst, the UK “doesn’t have” the right sort of jets to offer.
This is Mr Zelenskyy’s second trip outside Ukraine since Russia invaded last February.
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After visiting parliament, he travelled to Buckingham Palace for an audience with the King and later visited Lulworth Camp in Dorset with Mr Sunak, to meet Ukrainian troops being trained by the British Army.
Following his talks with Mr Macron and Mr Scholz, he said: “France and Germany have the potential to be game changers and that’s how I see our talks.
“The sooner we get heavy long-range weapons and our pilots get modern planes … the quicker this Russian aggression will end.”
Also on the agenda during Mr Zelenskyy’s visit to Brussels will be a discussion on Ukraine joining the European Union.
Britain has denied Russian claims that Royal Navy personnel blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month, saying the story is “invented”.
A Ministry of Defence tweet said: “To detract from their disastrous handling of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defence is resorting to peddling false claims of an epic scale.
“This invented story says more about arguments going on inside the Russian government than it does about the West.”
The 760-mile pipelines run from Russia to Germany, via the Baltic Sea, at a depth as low as 110 metres.
They were the most important supply route for Russian gas supplies to Europe, with a joint annual capacity of 110 billion cubic metres – more than half of Russia’s normal gas export volume.
Russia suspends grain export deal – live updates
But Russia cut off supply via Nord Stream 1 at the end of August, and Nord Stream 2 never entered service, as Germany paused its certification process shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
On 26 September, the pipelines registered a sharp drop in pressure and seismologists detected explosions before four leaks were recorded.
Russia said on Saturday: “According to available information, representatives of this unit of the British Navy took part in the planning, provision and implementation of a terrorist attack in the Baltic Sea on 26 September this year – blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.”
It did not share any evidence to back up its claims.
Russia was initially blamed for sabotaging the pipelines as part of its efforts to deprive Europe of energy, but it dismissed these claims as “stupid”, instead blaming the US.
The US destroyed the pipelines, so it could sell more liquefied natural gas to Europe, Russia said – a claim denied by the US.
Sweden and Denmark concluded the leaks were caused by explosions, but did not say who might be responsible.
Swedish prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist called on Friday for a “supplementary crime scene investigation” at the site, adding: “It is important both for the preliminary investigation and for the various collaborations we have that we now get to work in peace and quiet.”
Read more: What we know about the Nord Stream gas leaks and who was behind them Fourth leak revealed on Nord Stream pipelines as Russia denies sabotage
Meanwhile, Russia has also claimed “British specialists” directed Ukrainian drone strikes on ships in the Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean city of Sevastopol early on Saturday.
Russia’s defence ministry said: “Nine unmanned aerial vehicles and seven autonomous marine drones were involved in the attack.
“The preparation of this terrorist act and the training of servicemen of the Ukrainian 73rd Special Center for Naval Operations were carried out under the guidance of British specialists located in the town of Ochakiv.”
Russia has described the decision not to invite its representatives to the Queen’s funeral as “profoundly immoral” and “blasphemous”.
Leaders and dignitaries from around the world have been invited to the late monarch’s state funeral, but Russia’s Vladimir Putin and others were snubbed.
Putin’s forces may have ‘advantages’ after Kharkiv withdrawal – Ukraine war latest
“We view this British attempt to use a national tragedy that has touched the hearts of millions of people around the world for geopolitical purposes to settle scores with our country during the days of mourning as profoundly immoral,” Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
“This is especially blasphemous to the memory of Elizabeth II, who is known to have served during World War II in the territorial defence ranks of the British Armed Forces fighting the Nazis,” she added.
Ties between the UK and Russia are strained following the February invasion, with Britain taking a lead among Western nations in sending weapons to Ukraine.
Read more on the Queen: Nearly four-mile queue to see Queen – latest news live Watch the Queen lying in state
“The unifying image of Queen Elizabeth II, who has not interfered with politics as a matter of principle during her reign, has not become an obstacle to London’s dissenting attacks, which are subject to accomplishing their own conjectural objectives,” Ms Zakharova said.
“For our part, we express our profound condolences to the British people for the great loss that befell them.”
