(Reuters) -The Kremlin dismissed a New York Times report on Thursday that Russia or its proxies were flying surveillance drones over routes that the United States and its allies use to ferry military supplies through eastern Germany.
Asked about the report, in which the New York Times cited U.S. and other Western officials, spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that the Kremlin had not had time to read the story closely.
“But it’s hard to imagine, because then the Germans would have seen it clearly, and they would hardly have kept quiet. So, of course, all this looks more like another newspaper fake,” he said.
The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
U.S. and German officials have been discussing alleged Russian sabotage activities, including details that contributed to the May arrest of three Ukrainian men allegedly involved in a plot linked to Russia, the New York Times said.
It said the sabotage activities had caused warehouse fires in Britain, a dam attack in Norway and attempts to disrupt undersea cables in the Baltic Sea that were aimed at destabilising Europe and eroding support for Ukraine, which was invaded by Russian forces in February 2022.
The sabotage acts have decreased significantly after peaking last year, which is partly the result of heightened security in Europe, and efforts by U.S. and European intelligence services to prevent attacks, the New York Times said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been trying to secure a negotiated end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, but peace efforts have so far failed to halt the fighting.
(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra, Timothy Heritage and Alex Richardson)
