Russia claims Britain ‘co-ordinated’ Nord Stream explosions and Liz Truss ‘sent US a message saying “It’s done” shortly after the blast’
- Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, claims Russia has ‘data’ showing UK coordinated attack on the Nord Stream pipes with the US
- Comes after Kim Dotcom – founder of Megaupload – circulated conspiracy theory that Truss texted US secretary of state after attack saying ‘it’s done’
- Kim claimed text was on Truss’s hacked phone, but has not produced evidence
- Claim appears to be part of propaganda attack on UK over support for Ukraine
Russia has accused Britain of coordinating attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipes.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, said today that Kremlin intelligence agents ‘have data indicating British military specialists were directing and coordinating the attack’ which destroyed two gas lines running from Russia to Germany in September.
It comes after Kim Dotcom, who ran site Megaupload before he was convicted of fraud, began circulating a conspiracy theory that Liz Truss had texted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken immediately after the attack saying ‘it’s done’.
Kim claimed to have learned of the message from Truss’s iCloud, after it was revealed that Russia hacked her phone while she was foreign secretary. Neither Kim nor Peskov have released the evidence they claim to have seen.
Nonetheless, the accusation does represent a new line of attack from Russia at the US and Britain which have led support for Ukraine in resisting Putin’s invasion.
Russia has accused the UK of orchestrating the blasts which destroyed the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines with the US, saying security services have ‘data’ proving it
Comes after conspiracy theory circulated online claiming Liz Truss texted Antony Blinken after the attack saying ‘it’s done’ while her phone was hacked
Western leaders have stopped short of publicly blaming Russia for the attack – which blew two holes in each pipeline and may have permanently disabled them – but have been privately briefing their suspicions that Putin was behind it.
Kim’s claim about Truss’s iPhone also picked up and parroted by Maria Zakharova, spokesman for Russia’s foreign ministry, who demanded answers.
‘Frankly, I don’t care who got this information or how,’ she said. ‘I am interested in London’s response to the following question:
‘Did British Prime Minister Liz Truss send a message to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the immediate aftermath of the bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline saying “It’s done?”‘
Russia’s claims appear inconsistent with what is known about Truss’s phone hack, which was first reported by the Mail on Sunday.
According to the paper, the hack was discovered ‘over the summer’ while Truss was still foreign secretary and in the running to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.
The pipe blast did not occur until September 26, more than two weeks after the contest concluded with Truss declared the victor.
While the public did not learn about the hack until recently, the Mail on Sunday reports those in government did know about it and decided to hush it up.
It seems highly unlikely that Truss would have been allowed to keep using the phone for weeks after the breach was uncovered.
Sources told the Mail on Sunday that the device is now being kept inside a locked safe at at secure government location.
The UK government has not responded to the claims.
Russia and President Putin have repeatedly denied carrying out attacks on the Nord Stream pipes, pointing the finger of blame at the US.
Nord Stream 2 was due to become the main route for Russian gas reaching Europe but was scrapped by Germany when Putin invaded.
Nord Stream 1 had been operating for a decade and ferried huge amounts of gas to the continent, which it relied upon for almost 40 per cent of its energy.
However, it was barely in use at the time of the explosion after Russia throttled supplies to just 10 per cent capacity – blaming maintenance issues.
Nobody is sure exactly how the attack was carried out, but theories include that Russia may have used one of its underwater sabotage submarines to carry it out.
Others suggest some kind of explosive could have been dropped from the surface perhaps days or weeks ahead of time and then detonated, or that a drone controlled by a nearby ship or sub could have done it.
The area of the blasts – which sits just outside of Swedish and Danish territorial waters – is now cordoned off and Stockholm is leading a probe into what happened.
A series of powerful explosions on September 26 tore four large holes in the Nord Stream pipes, which may have permanently disabled them (pictured, one of the pipes)
Nord Stream 1 was the main route for Russian gas reaching Europe but had been largely shut down before the blast. Nord Stream 2 was due to double capacity, but never opened
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