New report on Nord Stream sabotage points finger at Ukrainians
Berlin, Germany - A new report on the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines linking Russia and Germany suggests that the clues point to Ukrainians as the culprits.
Research by German public broadcasters ARD and SWR, as well as Die Zeit newspaper, put forward the theory on Tuesday.
Officials from the US, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands were reportedly involved in investigating the mysterious explosion that damaged the pipelines back in September.
According to the media accounts, there's no definitive proof of who ordered the destruction so far. However, citing intelligence leads, they said a pro-Ukrainian group could be responsible.
Fingers were pointed at a suspicious yacht that had been rented from a company based in Poland, which "apparently belongs to two Ukrainians," they said.
In addition, a team consisting of a captain, two divers, two diving assistants and a doctor had brought the explosives to the crime scenes. As they apparently used forged passports, the individuals' nationalities remained unclear.
Ukraine denies reports of involvement
According to The New York Times, the US has "no evidence" linking the attack to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky or his top aides.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov completely denied his country's involvement.
"This is not our activity," Reznikov said at a meeting of EU defense ministers. Expressing confidence in ongoing international probes, he said the reports were "like a compliment for our special forces."
At the beginning of February, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh published a report in which he claimed that US Navy divers were responsible for the sabotage. The White House rejected the accusations.
The US and Russia have been blaming each other for the incident.
Cover photo: via REUTERS