The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it is perplexed by how US officials can assume anything about the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines without first conducting an investigation.
The New York Times reported previously that US intelligence suggests a pro-Ukrainian group sabotaged the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines from Russia to Europe last September, but that there is no evidence of involvement from the Kyiv government.
Russia and Germany’s underwater pipelines exploded in the Baltic Sea, within the exclusive economic zones of Sweden and Denmark, seven months into the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Both governments have agreed that the explosions were an act of terrorism, but neither has identified a suspect.
The attackers are trying to deflect blame, it’s clear. A spokesperson for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, told the state-run RIA news agency that “obviously” there had been “a coordinated stuffing in the media.
Without doing research, how can American officials make any assumptions?
The countries that own a stake in Nord Stream, according to Peskov, should demand an immediate, open investigation.
We have not been granted access to the ongoing probe. A few days ago, the Danes and Swedes wrote to us about this,” Peskov said.
And it’s not just odd, either. It has the stench of a terrible crime.
US and NATO officials have described the pipeline attacks as “an act of sabotage,” while Russian officials have pointed the finger at the West and demanded an investigation. The evidence for either side is lacking.
According to the report published by the New York Times on Tuesday, US officials stated that there was no evidence that Zelensky or his top aides were involved or that the perpetrators were acting at the behest of any Ukrainian government officials. As of yet, no pro-Ukraine organization has been singled out as a possible culprit.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Ukraine is not involved in the excesses on the pipelines, said presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak in a statement. Nothing about it makes any kind of sense.”
According to White House spokesman John Kirby, the United States was waiting for investigations in Germany, Sweden, and Denmark to wrap up. Despite its best efforts, Reuters was unable to confirm the New York Times’ claims.
