Ukraine Denies Involvement in Nord Stream Pipeline Explosions Following WSJ Claims

Following The Wall Street Journal's article about the Ukrainian leadership's role in the Nord Stream pipeline explosions, Mykhailo Podoliak, advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, denied Kyiv's involvement in the sabotage on August 15.

The Wall Street Journal's publication claims that the idea to destroy the Russian pipelines emerged in May 2022 when "several high-ranking Ukrainian military officials and businessmen gathered to celebrate a significant success in the country's resistance against Russia's invasion."

According to the publication, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly initially approved the plan, but later, when the CIA learned about it and requested that the operation be stopped, he ordered the sabotage to be canceled. However, according to WSJ, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who was then the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, decided to continue the operation.

"Ukraine has no connection to the Nord Stream explosions," Podoliak told Reuters. Presidential advisor added that Kyiv did not gain any strategic or tactical advantage from the blasts.

Podoliak insists that the sabotage was organized by Russia. "Such an act can only be carried out with significant technical and financial resources... And who had all this at the time of the explosion? Only Russia," he noted.

On September 26, 2022, three of the four strands of the Nord Stream pipelines, which transport Russian natural gas to Europe, were destroyed at a depth of about 80 meters on the Baltic Sea floor. This included sections of both Nord Stream 1, which had been operational for many years, and Nord Stream 2, which had never been put into service. Russia accused Ukraine and the United States of the sabotage.