Russia's FSB Accuses Ukrainian Intelligence of Staging Crimean Gas Pipeline Blast

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The explosion of a gas pipeline in the Crimea in August was organised by Ukrainian intelligence with the participation of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People (banned in Russia), the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on 7 September.

On 23 August, unidentified persons damaged a gas pipeline in a mountainous area of Crimea used for supplying gas to a military unit and to the village of Perevalnoye. Operation was restored the next day. On 6 September, four suspects were arrested.

"It has been established that this act of sabotage was orchestrated by the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate in Kherson, the so-called Tavria operational service, with the participation of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, which is banned in Russia. On 4 September 2021, FSB staffers detained Crimean residents: Mejlis Deputy Chairman Nariman Dzhelyalov, who acted as a middleman, and direct perpetrators Asan and Aziz Akhmetov", the FSB said in a statement.

The perpetrators travelled to Ukraine in June to be trained to use explosives. Ukrainian military intelligence pledged to pay them around $2,000 for the act of sabotage. The explosive device was delivered to Crimea in July. The attack was initially scheduled to be carried out on Ukrainian Independence Day on 24 August.