SVR Claims Attack on Sevastopol Museum Was Planned by British Intelligence
Dragon Media News Desk
Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, known as the SVR, has claimed that the drone attack on the Museum of the Defence of Sevastopol in June was deliberately planned by Britain and its intelligence services.
According to a statement issued by the SVR Press Bureau, Ukrainian military personnel prepared and launched the drones. However, the Russian intelligence agency said they may not have been aware of the attack’s actual target.
The SVR alleged that British specialists posing as military advisers entered the flight instructions into the drones’ weapons systems.
The Russian agency said there were no military facilities near the museum and claimed that the historic panorama depicting the defence of Sevastopol during the Crimean War of 1853–1856 had been deliberately selected as the target.
According to the SVR, Britain views the conflict in Ukraine as an opportunity to settle old historical scores with Russia. The statement said the Sevastopol panorama is associated with memories of Britain’s unsuccessful attempt to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia during the Crimean War.
The Russian intelligence service claimed that the museum represents a historically uncomfortable symbol for Britain because it recalls a difficult military campaign that resulted in significant losses, including among members of the British elite.
The attempt to set the panorama on fire was described by the SVR as an effort to erase evidence of the courage and resistance of Russian soldiers.
“Sadly, London has still failed to learn the lessons of history,” the SVR said in its statement.
The Russian agency warned that the British side would have to answer for the attack on the Sevastopol museum, as well as for other acts that Moscow alleges were committed against the peoples of Russia and Ukraine.
The SVR did not publicly provide independently verifiable evidence to support its allegation. The statement also did not include an official response from Britain or Ukraine. The claim that British intelligence selected the target should therefore be understood as the official position of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
