The Soviet Union - and by some accounts apparently to this day, the Russian government - claimed that the "K-219" collided with "Augusta" off the coast of Bermuda, and that is what resulted in the sinking of the submarine. The United States Navy has denied this, and - surprisingly - so has Britanov himself. In an interview with Lt. Cmdr. Wayne Grasdock on August 5, 1998, Britanov stated that in the eyes of the Russian government, there were no heroes on "K-219". When asked how many times he was invited to be a guest speaker at Russian functions, he replied he was not invited at all. "I do not tell the story the way my government wants me to tell it," Britanov explained. "I did not collide with an American sub.”