A senior adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin has just made a noteworthy accusation, saying that the Nord Stream sabotage is likely to be handled by British special forces.
In an article published in Kommersant on September 7, Mr. Nikolay Patrushev - senior advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, former director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) - affirmed that Ukraine "does not have enough qualifications and technology" to conduct a complex operation such as bombing the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
This sabotage is likely to have been planned, supervised and carried out with the participation of well-trained NATO special forces, said Patrushev.
He stressed that the culprits must be people with extensive experience in water activities in the Baltic Sea, where conditions are harsh and difficult to hide.
Mr. Putin's advisor specifically pointed out the UK Special Forces Waterway Special Boat Service (SBS) - an elite unit of the Royal Navy, famous for its warfare skills in landing and deep diving - as the group capable of carrying out this underground sabotage campaign. SBS was founded during World War II and is still one of the most elite secret forces in the world.
German prosecutors have previously concluded that the Nord Stream explosion was carried out by a group of Ukrainian citizens. However, Moscow said the Berlin investigation lacked transparency and deliberately removed Russia from the process.
In 2024, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service also stated that it had credible information about the direct involvement of the US and UK in the incident, but both Washington and London strongly denied it.
The explosions under the Baltic Sea in September 2022 paralyzed a key gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, shocking the European energy market and fueling political controversy that continues today.
