The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed reports of an alleged role of a “pro-Ukrainian” group in the operation to sabotage the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines last year, saying they were “a red herring.”
On Tuesday, the New York Times reported on the alleged involvement of a “pro-Ukrainian group” but “without the involvement of President Volodymyr Zelensky.”
Other information released on Tuesday in Germany said that “German prosecutors” found evidence of alleged Ukrainian involvement in the 2022 gas pipeline explosions linking Russia with Germany.
According to reports from the German public stations ARD and SWR and a publication by German investigators, a ship was identified that was used to transport six people, diving equipment and explosives across the Baltic Sea in early September last year. .
“Obviously, the perpetrators of the attack want to divert attention. It is obvious that this is a coordinated media maneuver,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, quoted by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
“This case is not just a strange case. It looks like a monstrous crime,” Peskov said, calling for an urgent “transparent investigation.”
Peskov confirmed that Russia would take part in a possible international investigation into sabotage against two gas pipelines built to supply Europe with gas from Russia. “We (Russia) have not yet been allowed to participate in the investigation. We have only recently received information about this from Denmark and Sweden,” the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, the Kiev Defense Ministry this Wednesday reiterated that Ukraine was “not involved” in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea in September 2022, reacting to news of the alleged involvement of a “pro-Ukrainian group”.
“This did not happen because of our actions,” said Alexei Reznikov, answering a question on the sidelines of the European meeting, which is taking place this Wednesday in the Swedish capital.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who is also in Stockholm, said he was “following the news with great interest” but warned against “rushing to conclusions.”
News released by German media on Tuesday also said explosive charges had been planted in gas pipelines and a used ship had been leased to a company in Poland that would be owned by two Ukrainian citizens.
News from the German ARD station indicated that the planting of the explosives was allegedly carried out by a team of six people: a captain, two divers, two assistants and a doctor, whose nationality was not “specified” because the passports for renting a yacht “was fake.”
ARD sources say the crew left the German port of Rostock on September 6, and a day later the ship was found on the Dars peninsula and then off the Danish island of Christianso.
On one of the tables on the yacht, which was returned to the rental company without cleaning, investigators found traces of explosives.
On the other hand, on Tuesday, the New York Times, citing US intelligence sources, writes that “there is evidence pointing to intervention” by a pro-Ukrainian group.
At the same time, the same sources say that “there is no indication that the Kiev government” was aware of the alleged sabotage operation.
In a recently published article, American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh mentioned that US Navy divers, with the support of Norway, planted explosive charges in the Nord Stream gas pipeline in June 2022, which went off three months later.
At the time, the United States said the information Hersh had gathered was “completely false”.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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