Russia says Western claims of Russian undersea cable sabotage aim to curb sea-borne Russian oil exports

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused NATO of using what she called "myths" to beef up the alliance's presence in the Baltic Sea. (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

Russia on Thursday accused NATO and the West of making "evidence-free" allegations against Moscow over ships purportedly involved in sabotaging undersea cables in an effort to curb sea-borne Russian oil exports.

Finnish police last month seized a tanker carrying Russian oil and said they suspected the vessel had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecoms cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said earlier this week that NATO members are looking at targeting Russia's shadow fleet in the area with sanctions as part of efforts to protect undersea critical installations.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused NATO of using what she called "myths" to beef up the alliance's presence in the Baltic Sea.

"The real purpose of all this is to limit Russian oil exports by any means necessary and to create the preconditions for restricting international shipping in the Baltic Sea, which Westerners call NATO's internal sea," she told a news briefing.