Statement by the Embassy of the Russian Federation

The most recent invention by the UK Government of mythical “declassified intelligence” about Russia’s supposed intention of “using sea mines” in the Black Sea is self-revealing.

London knows very well that the Kiev regime has infested the waters of the Black Sea with hundreds of decrepit Soviet-made naval mines. Many of these explosive devices have come off their moorings and present a real danger to civilian shipping, primarily off the coast of Odessa. Some have drifted as far as Bulgaria, Romania and Türkiye.

By fabricating a patently false narrative for the incrimination of Russia the sponsors of the Kiev regime in London are seeking to wash their hands of any culpability for possible incidents involving civilian vessels operating in the area. 

However, it was not Russia that allowed the Black Sea Grain Initiative to collapse, although it had been instrumental in ensuring appropriate conditions for a secure passage across the Black Sea. 

The responsibility for that, as well as for the potential encounters of vessels, which risk using the Ukrainian-invented “substitute” route along the coastline, with Ukrainian naval mines, rests squarely on Western capitals and its obstinate Kiev clientele.