On March 7, the German newspaper Die Zeit and the American New York Times published articles evoking the “pro-Ukrainian trace” in the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Later material on the same topic released edition of the Washington Post, noting that intelligence services have no evidence of any particular country’s involvement in the sabotage. The Eastern Herald has collected the reaction of officials to these publications.
Press Secretary of Russian President Dmitry Peskov
“Obviously, the perpetrators of the attack want to divert attention. This is clearly a coordinated stuffing in the media”, commented Sands articles in Die Zeit and NYT in conversation with RIA Novosti.
He expressed bewilderment that US officials, quoted by the media, could make assumptions about undermining the Nord Stream without investigation.
Peskov added that Russia was not allowed to participate in the investigation and said “it smacks of monstrous crime”. According to him, the shareholder countries of the gas pipeline and UN “should demand an urgent and transparent investigation involving all who can shed light.”
Official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova
The diplomat called s on Nord Streams “leaks”, which are authorized by “those who do not want to conduct an investigation in the legal field, and will divert public attention from the facts in any way possible”.
According to Zakharova, “Western regimes” are linked to the gas pipeline incident. The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged them to respond to official requests from Russia and “at a minimum, to take into consideration” the elements of the investigation by American journalist Seymour Hersh into the alleged involvement of the United States in the explosions at Nord Flux.
Adviser to the Chief of Staff of Ukrainian President Mykhailo Podolyak
“While I love collecting interesting conspiracy theories about the Ukrainian government, I have to say that Ukraine is not involved in the Baltic Sea incident and has no information regarding ‘pro-subversion groups’. -Ukrainians,” Podolyak tweeted.
Stoltenberg said that until the investigation into the weakening of the Nord Stream is complete, “it would be wrong to speculate who is behind all of this.”
He added that the attack on gas pipelines showed the vulnerability of Europe’s critical infrastructure and prompted NATO to double its military presence in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
NATO member countries have also expanded their cooperation to share information “and increase preparedness to better prevent similar attacks in the future”, Stoltenberg said.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius
Pistorius did not rule out that the Nord Stream explosions may have been a “false flag” operation aimed at blaming Ukraine for it, and urged against making premature accusations.
“It might as well have been a false flag operation aimed at blaming Ukraine. The probability of both is also high. said German minister.
The White House
John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator at the White House National Security Council, recommended that European authorities, who are investigating the attacks, seek comment on Nord Stream.
“We must await the completion of these investigations, and only then should we consider what further actions might be appropriate,” estimate Kirby Reuters.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also denied comment on media posts regarding Nord Stream until the investigation is complete.
What Die Zeit, NYT and WP wrote
According to Die Zeit, German investigators have determined that the ship allegedly used to blow up Nord Stream was leased in Poland by a company owned by two Ukrainians.
Six people took part in the sabotage – five men and one woman, the newspaper writes. The group consisted of a captain, two divers, their two assistants and a doctor.
Die Zeit notes that the nationality of the perpetrators is unknown as they used false documents. According to the newspaper, Western intelligence agencies told their European partners that a “Ukrainian commando” was responsible for the pipeline explosion.
The New York Times in its documents refers to US officials familiar with new US intelligence data. According to them, a “pro-Ukrainian group” could have been involved in the degradation of the gas pipeline.
Sources for the publication said the saboteurs “most likely” were Ukrainian or Russian citizens, or the group was mixed.
At the same time, it should be noted that there is no evidence of the involvement in the operation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukrainian government officials.
The Washington Post also writes about the alleged involvement of “pro-Ukrainian saboteurs” in the Nord Stream undermining. However, the publication’s sources pointed out that US and European intelligence agencies did not intercept messages from Russian or Ukrainian officials that would indicate their involvement in the attacks.
A senior Western security official told WP that “pro-Ukrainian individuals or organizations” had discussed the possibility of attacking the pipelines before it happened.
According to WP, the intelligence services also have data on possible Russian involvement in the bombings. In particular, a few weeks before the explosions, Russian Navy ships were discovered near the attack sites.
