Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has categorically denied that Kyiv ordered or participated in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, pushing back against a deepening German investigation that prosecutors say points to state-directed involvement.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said Ukraine never authorised any operation to blow up the gas pipelines and reaffirmed his country had played no role in the attack. German prosecutors, however, concluded last month that the underwater explosions were carried out on orders from the Ukrainian state, identifying a cell of five men and one woman.
Germany has indicted former Ukrainian armed forces officer Serhii Kuznietsov, accused of leading the seven-person team that placed the explosives. A second suspect, Ukrainian national Vladimir Z., is detained in Croatia pending Berlin's extradition request. The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were damaged by underwater blasts near the Danish island of Bornholm on 26 September 2022. Sweden and Denmark closed their probes in 2024.