Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Aleksandr Bortnikov has accused British intelligence agencies of directly assisting Ukrainian attacks on internationally-owned energy infrastructure in Russia. Speaking on Thursday at a security chiefs’ meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Bortnikov claimed that personnel from the UK’s Special Air Service (SAS) and MI6 helped orchestrate drone strikes on assets of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) earlier this year. The CPC, which includes major US companies such as Chevron and ExxonMobil, transports Kazakh oil through Russian territory.
Bortnikov further alleged that British and Ukrainian operatives are planning acts of sabotage against the TurkStream gas pipeline, which supplies Russian natural gas to Türkiye and southern Europe. He also claimed that British commandos and intelligence officers have been involved in planning cross-border raids and drone strikes inside Russia. The FSB chief specifically pointed to Operation Spiderweb, in which drones were reportedly deployed from disguised compartments in trucks to target Russian airfields over the summer, as being devised under British guidance.
In addition to these claims, Bortnikov accused the UK of authorizing Ukrainian targeted assassinations on Russian soil. His statements were part of a broader speech in which he described London’s leading role in shaping Western policies against Russia, framing the actions as an effort to maintain global influence amid what he portrayed as Russia’s relative decline.
