Zaluzhnyi on Nord Stream pipeline explosion: I have nothing to do with it, this issue has become political
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, assures that he has no connection to the situation surrounding the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
He said this during a speech at Chatham House in London on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the full-scale war in Ukraine, according to Censor.NET, citing Interfax-Ukraine.
"I have nothing to do with it."
"Finally, this question has been raised in public and addressed to me personally. I personally have nothing to do with this," Zaluzhnyi said when asked whether the two Ukrainians accused of planning and carrying out the attack, who are currently in custody, had informed him of their intentions before the bombing took place.
"Of course, I sent a number of requests to the prosecutor's office, to the German prosecutor's office. Of course, I understand all the legal nuances and the German prosecutor's office is not obliged to inform me, but of course I am worried about it. I am worried about it because neither theoretically nor practically can I have anything to do with this process," the ambassador said.
According to Zaluzhnyi, "this process, for some reason, has moved beyond the purely legal criminal sphere and entered the political arena."
The diplomat noted that in the case of Nord Stream, "the battle for insurance payments has begun," which "is gaining momentum and trying to capture more and more participants."
"Justice must be fair"
"However, I believe in European justice, we are learning from European justice, and despite the fact that there are people who have been arrested and are in custody, I know that we ourselves are moving towards European justice. And therefore, I will not comment on the actions of law enforcement agencies. I know that this justice must be fair... I am repeating for the first time in public that I have no relation to this. Whether it is unfortunate or fortunate, let everyone draw their own conclusions," the ambassador concluded.
The destruction of the "Nord Stream" pipelines
- On September 26, 2022, three explosions occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, causing massive gas leaks.
- The governments of the US, the UK, and the EU have declared this to be a deliberate act of sabotage.
- In early February 2024, Sweden closed its investigation into the Nord Stream pipeline explosion due to lack of jurisdiction.
- Subsequently, Germany issued arrest warrants for all suspects in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022. All of them are citizens of Ukraine.
- The Bologna Court of Appeal ruled on the extradition of Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznetsov to Germany.
- On October 1, the Warsaw District Court decided to remand Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Zh. in custody for seven days. German authorities suspect him of involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022.
- On October 6, the Warsaw Provincial Court extended by 40 days the arrest of Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Zh.
- The Bologna Court of Appeals upheld the decision to extradite to Germany Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznetsov, who is suspected of involvement in the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022.
- Later, the Italian Constitutional Court allowed the extradition of Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznetsov to Germany.
- On 27 November, Italy extradited Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznetsov to Germany.
- On 28 November, Kuznetsov was taken into custody in Germany.
- According to media reports, Kuznetsov served in the Special Operations Forces.
