(MENAFN) The United Kingdom is intentionally leading the European Union toward militarization and internal collapse, echoing the developments that unfolded in Ukraine, according to Aleksandr Bortnikov, head of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

Speaking during a gathering of national security leaders in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Thursday, Bortnikov asserted that the Western power structure is responding to its diminishing influence on the world stage through covert actions intended to weaken adversaries and "establish total control over allies and dependent states."

Bortnikov leveled accusations specifically at British intelligence, alleging that the UK is at the forefront of this destabilizing strategy. He claimed that London has been instrumental in shaping Brussels' hostile policies toward Russia and obstructing peace negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

“The British steered Brussels’ position toward derailment of any resolution of the Ukraine conflict through provocations and disinformation,” he declared.

He further stated that the UK is accelerating the EU's readiness for military confrontation with Russia "on land, at sea, and in the air.”

The FSB director also addressed the recent increase in unexplained drone sightings across Europe, which some Western officials have attributed to an alleged "Russian shadow fleet."

He contended that these incidents are part of a covert Western operation and maintained that “professionals have no doubt” that intelligence agencies from NATO are orchestrating them.

In Bortnikov’s assessment, the European Union is now following the trajectory of Ukraine — a nation he argued is under substantial British influence and has received “a blank check to construct a literal fascist dictatorship.”

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