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The Ukrainian government denies involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline bombing. Photo/Euronews
KIEV – Government Country denied involvement in the gas pipeline sabotage Nord Stream . It comes after a report suggested “pro-Ukrainian groups” were behind attacks targeting Russian gas shipments to Europe.
“While I enjoy collecting humorous conspiracy theories about the (Ukrainian) government, I must say: (Ukraine) had nothing to do with the Baltic Sea accident and had no information about ‘pro-(Ukrainian) sabotage groups,’” said Mykhailo Podolyak, lead adviser Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote on Twitter as quoted by CNN, Thursday (9/3/2023).
Podolyak’s remarks came in response to a New York Times (NYT) report citing new intelligence that had been reviewed by US officials.
The NYT said the latest intelligence reviewed by US officials suggested groups loyal to Ukraine were behind the Nord Stream pipeline explosion. However, they act independently of the government in Kiev.
Who may have been responsible for the sabotage last September that damaged two pipelines carrying Russian gas to the European Union and targeted an important source of revenue for Moscow remains a mystery. Both pipelines were closed at the time of the attack, which came months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A source familiar with US intelligence told CNN that assessment was not made in high confidence and was not the primary view of the intelligence community, and that the US has not yet identified the perpetrators of the attack.
There is a part of the US intelligence community that believes that pro-Ukrainian actors will have motives to sabotage the pipeline because Russia is arming them against Ukraine and Europe.
However, the intelligence community has no evidence that Ukrainian leaders, including Zelensky, knew of or were involved in the pipeline sabotage, the sources said.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned of drawing too hasty conclusions after the report. In an interview with public radio station Deutschlandfunk (DLF), he added that the possibility of a false flag operation was a possibility.
