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The head of Russia's Federal Security Service claimed Thursday that the United Kingdom and Ukraine are "planning sabotage" against the TurkStream pipeline, according to the Russian media outlet RIA Novosti's report on Thursday.
Alexander Bortnikov, speaking at a meeting of security and intelligence chiefs from Commonwealth of Independent States countries in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, claimed that "terrorist acts and sabotage" are carried out on Russian territory "under the patronage of British intelligence services," citing what he called "reliable information."
Bortnikov said the British Special Air Service and MI6 planned drone strikes against the office and facilities of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which carries oil from Kazakhstan's Tengiz field near the Caspian Sea to the Russian port city of Novorossiysk.
"We have information about the British, together with Ukrainian intelligence services, preparing sabotage against the TurkStream gas pipeline," Bortnikov said, without providing details.
Bortnikov claimed that a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack targeting Russian military airfields in the summer, which Kyiv called "Operation Spiderweb," was carried out under the supervision of British intelligence prior to the second round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul on June 2.
He accused the United Kingdom of "repeated failure of genuine initiatives to peacefully resolve the conflict in Ukraine" and for allegedly insisting Europe prepare for an armed confrontation with Russia.
"The possible consequences of a clash between Europe and Russia could be most disastrous," he added.
The TurkStream is a submarine gas pipeline that carries Russian gas to Türkiye and countries in Southeastern Europe. The pipeline consists of two parallel lines with a total length of approximately 1,100 kilometers, with 930 kilometers laid along the floor of the Black Sea.
Each line has a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas annually, totaling 31.5 billion cubic meters per year. Since January 2025, TurkStream has been the only route for Russian gas supplies to Europe, underscoring its strategic importance.
In January 2025, the Russian Defense Ministry reported an attempted Ukrainian attack on the TurkStream station. According to the ministry, Ukrainian military forces attempted to attack the Russkaya compressor station, which supplies gas through the pipeline, using drones.
Debris from the drones caused minor damage to a building and equipment at the gas measuring station, the ministry said.
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Bortnikov also accused the intelligence services of leading NATO countries of being involved in the emergence of most "zones of instability" seen in the world and in drone incursions reported in Europe since last month.
He accused NATO of expanding toward the Commonwealth of Independent States "under the guise of various assistance projects for modernizing the army and military infrastructure, equipping intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies and training specialists."
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