Kiev on Wednesday denied any involvement in last year's sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea that the New York Times blamed on a "pro-Ukrainian group", based on information obtained by US intelligence. Data collected by US intelligence suggests that the perpetrators behind the sabotage of the two gas pipelines were "adversaries of Russian President Vladimir Putin", writes The New York Times.
Since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the two pipelines have been at the center of geopolitical tensions, fueled by Moscow's decision to cut gas supplies to Europe in alleged retaliation for Western sanctions . On September 26, 2022, four huge gas leaks preceded by underwater explosions were detected on gas pipelines connecting Russia to Germany, all in international waters. Out of service at the time of the events, the two gas pipelines nevertheless contained significant quantities of methane.
A "pro-Ukrainian group" would be behind this sabotage, the New York Times believes based on information consulted by US intelligence, without however giving details on these elements or on the identity of this " pro-Ukrainian group". However, kyiv has formally denied these allegations. "Although I like collecting funny conspiracy theories about the Ukrainian government, I have to say that Ukraine has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea accident and has no information about sabotage groups pro-Ukrainians," tweeted Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to US officials, there is no indication that the Ukrainian president was involved in this sabotage.
Ukraine is not involved in the spectacular sabotage of the two Nord Stream gas pipelines, the Ukrainian Defense Minister said on Wednesday. "It does not come from our action," said Oleksiï Reznikov, questioned on the sidelines of a European meeting in Stockholm. "I advise against jumping to conclusions," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at the start of the Stockholm meeting.
German media said on Tuesday that the criminal investigation had identified the boat used for the sabotage. It was rented by a company based in Poland "apparently owned by two Ukrainians", say the weekly Die Zeit as well as the public broadcasters ARD and SWR. A team of six people, made up of five men and one woman, including divers, boarded the ship to transport and dispose of the explosives on the site, the media believe. They derive this information from interviews "with sources in several countries".
Judicial inquiries into the destruction of gas pipelines are being carried out by Germany, Denmark and Sweden. However, "the nationality of the perpetrators is unclear", adds Die Zeit, adding that fake passports were used to rent the boat.
Investigators were able to determine that the commando set sail from the German port of Rostock on September 6, 2022 and later located the boat near the Danish island of Christiansø. Traces of explosives were detected "on the cabin table" of the boat returned "uncleaned" to its owner, writes Die Zeit. "Even if leads lead to Ukraine, investigators have not yet been able to determine who commissioned" the operation, the weekly underlines.
The New York Times adds that the information seen by US intelligence allows "no firm conclusions" and "leaves open the possibility that the operation was launched in secret by a third party force with ties to the Ukrainian government or its services. of security ". A spokesman for the German government told AFP that the latter had "taken note" of the New York Times article and referred to the ongoing judicial inquiry. "A preliminary investigation is ongoing in Sweden, so I do not intend to comment on this information," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters on Tuesday.
Russia had accused the "Anglo-Saxons" of being behind this sabotage. In a recent article, American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh wrote that US Navy divers, aided by Norway, allegedly planted explosives on these gas pipelines in June, triggering their explosion three months later. The United States called this information "totally false".
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