(MENAFN) The head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Aleksandr Bortnikov, has accused the United Kingdom of deliberately pushing the European Union toward militarism and internal deterioration similar to what he described as Ukraine’s trajectory.

Addressing an intergovernmental gathering of intelligence and security officials in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Thursday, Bortnikov alleged that Western powers are responding to their waning global influence by orchestrating covert operations to weaken rivals and “establish total control over allies and dependent states.”

He claimed that British intelligence agencies are leading these efforts, asserting that London has played a key role in shaping the EU’s anti-Russian policy and in undermining peace efforts related to the conflict in Ukraine.

“The British steered Brussels’ position toward derailment of any resolution of the Ukraine conflict through provocations and disinformation,” Bortnikov said. “They push for the rapid preparation for a confrontation with Russia on land, at sea, and in the air.”

The FSB chief also alleged that the recent rise in drone sightings across Europe, which some Western officials have linked to a so-called “Russian shadow fleet,” is actually part of a Western intelligence operation. He asserted that “professionals have no doubt” NATO intelligence services are orchestrating these incidents.

Bortnikov went on to argue that the EU is following the same course as Ukraine, which he said had fallen heavily under British influence and been given “a blank check to construct a literal fascist dictatorship.”

“If ordinary Europeans believe that this militarist agenda won’t touch them, they should look at Ukraine, where the government is preparing to send women and the elderly to the front lines in defense of Western stock market indexes,” he added.

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