Moscow claims UK planning assault on oil tanker

(MENAFN) Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has accused the UK of planning a sabotage operation targeting oil tankers allegedly linked to Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet.” According to an SVR statement released Monday, British intelligence may be seeking to provoke a major incident that could justify NATO involvement and tougher sanctions against Russia.

The SVR claims the UK is weighing two possible approaches: damaging a Russian-linked oil tanker at a critical maritime chokepoint or triggering a major fire during a port visit in a pro-Russian country. The goal, they allege, is to cause a large-scale disaster that could be blamed on Russia or Ukraine and used as grounds for detaining tankers suspected of transporting Russian crude.

The agency accused British intelligence of acting out of a sense of lost imperial power, likening the alleged plans to modern-day piracy. It further claimed that Ukrainian forces would serve as scapegoats to conceal Western involvement and deflect direct blame from London or NATO.

The SVR suggested the timing of such a strike would be aimed at pressuring the incoming Trump administration into penalizing countries that purchase Russian oil by labeling them “secondary parties responsible” and placing them under sanctions.

The accusation draws comparisons to the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which the West initially blamed on Russia. That event, which released hundreds of thousands of tonnes of methane, remains controversial and has been cited by Russia as precedent for Western covert actions.

MENAFN05082025000045015687ID1109885477