"Ukraine did not take part in any operation to sabotage ’Nord Stream’ pipelines," - Zelenskyy
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine has never officially taken part in any operation involving the sabotage of "Nord Stream 2".
He made these remarks whilst speaking to journalists at a meeting with the leaders of the Nordic-Baltic Eight, according to Censor.NET, citing "Ukrinform".
Ukraine has no connection with the operation
The Head of State was asked to comment on the latest developments in the ‘Nord Stream’ case.
"Ukraine has never officially taken part in any operation involving the sabotage of Nord Stream 2. The issue here is not a question of who wants something and who does not. There is an investigation, and it is currently underway. There is a case, there are charges, and there are relevant witnesses; in other words, proceedings are under way," said Zelenskyy.
The President noted that high-level talks had taken place with the German side on this matter.
"They know full well that Ukraine had no involvement in the execution or even the planning of the operation in question," said the head of state.
Ukraine is ready for a joint investigation
He emphasised that "the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are open to dialogue on this matter with their foreign counterparts".
"It is very important to us that we do not lose our partnership, nor the trust of the European countries that have been helping Ukraine since the very beginning of this war. And so we are entirely open to taking joint steps regarding the investigation and to taking joint steps to establish all the circumstances surrounding the events of that time," added the Ukrainian leader.
The sabotage of the ‘Nord Stream’ pipelines
- On 26 September 2022, three explosions occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which run along the seabed of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, causing massive gas leaks.
- The governments of the US, the UK and the EU have stated that this was a deliberate act of sabotage.
- In early February 2024, Sweden closed its investigation into the bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline due to a lack of jurisdiction.
- Subsequently, Germany issued arrest warrants for all those suspected of carrying out acts of sabotage on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022. All of them are Ukrainian nationals.
- The Bologna Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of the extradition to Germany of the Ukrainian national Serhii Kuznetsov.
- n 1 October, the Warsaw District Court ruled that the Ukrainian national Volodymyr Zh., whom the German authorities suspect of involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, should be remanded in custody for seven days.
- On 6 October, the Warsaw Regional Court extended by 40 days the detention of the Ukrainian national Volodymyr Zh.
- The Court of Appeal in Bologna upheld the decision to extradite to Germany Ukrainian national Serhii Kuznetsov, who is suspected of involvement in the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022.
- Subsequently, the Italian Constitutional Court authorised the extradition of Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznetsov to Germany.
- On 27 November, Italy extradited the Ukrainian 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.
- On 1 July 2026, the German Attorney General brought formal charges for the first time against Ukrainian national Serhii Kuznetsov, who is suspected of involvement in the sabotage of the ‘Nord Stream 1’ and ‘Nord Stream 2’ gas pipelines 26 September 2022.
