Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) on Monday attributed to the British government the alleged authorship of the drone attack launched by Ukraine a month ago against the Defense Museum in Sevastopol, on the Crimean peninsula. The incident caused serious damage to the building, although no casualties were reported.
For the SVR, the attack on June 10 "was a meticulous provocation" by the United Kingdom and its intelligence services. "It is regrettable that London has still not learned from past mistakes," said the Russian authorities, who also hold the British responsible for "many other barbaric crimes" against Russia and Ukraine.
Russian intelligence insisted that "there were no military facilities near" the museum and that "it is likely that the Ukrainians were unaware of the true purpose of the attack," which Moscow links to "past traumas," as the site preserves "painful memories" for the British.
The SVR refers to the Crimean War of the mid-19th century, in which the United Kingdom allied with France and the Ottoman Empire to contain Tsarist Russia. The museum commemorates that conflict and housed one of the largest battle paintings in the world, dedicated to the nearly year-long siege against Russian forces.