Patrushev Claims Western Special Forces Target Energy Infrastructure

In a recent interview published by Arguments and Facts, Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev asserted that the United States and the United Kingdom maintain specialized units capable of executing sabotage operations akin to the assaults on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines last summer. He contends that these forces, if mobilized, could carry out covert activities designed to disrupt critical energy infrastructure, asserting that the availability of such capability reflects the persistent readiness of Western powers to respond to strategic pressures with clandestine actions. Patrushev argued that the reach of these operations extends beyond single nations, with other NATO members reportedly employing maritime assault teams as instruments of misdirection or disruption, all under the umbrella of broad alliance consent. He emphasized that the practical execution of such schemes would hinge on the tacit backing and strategic clearance provided by the alliance’s leading states, suggesting that the North Atlantic Alliance uses the threat of such capabilities to shape political and security agendas across member countries.