{"id":2325281,"date":"2024-08-15T17:48:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T21:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zelensky-team-denies-role-in-nord-stream-2-sabotage-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-15T17:52:01","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T21:52:01","slug":"zelensky-team-denies-role-in-nord-stream-2-sabotage-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zelensky-team-denies-role-in-nord-stream-2-sabotage-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Zelensky team denies role in Nord Stream 2 sabotage &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fzelensky-team-denies-role-in-nord-stream-2-sabotage-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2325281&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Ukrainian \u200dPresident\u200c Volodymyr Zelensky&#8217;s team\u200c has denied any involvement\u200c in the\u200b sabotage of Russia&#8217;s Nord Stream 2 pipeline following Germany&#8217;s announcement of an indictment related to the incident. Mikhail Podolyak, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-trump-reportedly-offered-attorney-sidney-powell-special-counsel-position-but-now-his-closest-aides-are-blocking-her-from-president\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Trump Reportedly Offered Attorney Sidney Powell Special Counsel Position But Now His Closest Aides Are Blocking Her from President\">senior aide<\/a> to Zelensky, stated\u200c that such an\u200d act requires extensive resources only Russia could\u200b have possessed\u200d at\u200b the time of \u2063the attack. The credibility\u200b of Ukraine\u2019s denial has been questioned after a Ukrainian suspect \u200bfled to Ukraine to \u2063escape a\u200b German arrest warrant. German\u2062 officials believe\u200d Ukrainian military \u200cleaders may have \u2064coordinated the sabotage, potentially straining ties \u2062between Germany and Ukraine at a\u200b critical time\u200d during the ongoing war in Ukraine. While some Western intelligence \u2063sources express doubts \u2063about Ukraine&#8217;s culpability, suggesting the possibility of a &#8220;false\u200b flag operation&#8221;\u200b by Russia, Russian\u200c officials have attributed the explosion\u200c to \u2064U.S. involvement. \u200dThe pipeline \u200bincident has reignited debates\u200c within NATO about the implications for collective defense, especially given its importance for European energy security.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Zelensky team denies role in Nord Stream 2 sabotage<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1731580\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Ukrainian President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/volodymyr-zelensky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a>&rsquo;s team denied involvement in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3122956\/eight-revelations-nord-stream-sabotage-plot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"sabotage\">sabotage<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Russia<\/a>&rsquo;s Nord Stream 2 pipeline after <a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer\/tag\/germany\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Germany<\/a>&rsquo;s move to indict a Ukrainian diving instructor raised the curtain on Western assessments.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Such an act can only be carried out with extensive technical and financial resources &hellip; and who possessed all this at the time of the bombing? Only Russia,&rdquo; Mikhail Podolyak, one of Zelensky&rsquo;s top aides, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/ukraine-presidential-adviser-denies-ukraines-involvement-nord-stream-explosions-2024-08-15\/\">told<\/a> <em>Reuters<\/em>. &ldquo;Ukraine has nothing to do with the Nord Stream explosions.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Ukraine&rsquo;s denials have come under renewed scrutiny in the wake of Poland&rsquo;s announcement that a Ukrainian suspect evaded a German arrest warrant by leaving his home in Warsaw and crossing into Ukraine this summer. The results of the German investigation could complicate Berlin&rsquo;s relationship with Kyiv, in the midst of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/war-in-ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"war in Ukraine\">war in Ukraine<\/a> that NATO allies agree holds deep significance for Western security.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;An attack of this scale is a sufficient reason to trigger the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-does-nato-have-to-do-with-the-ukraine-russia-crisis\/\" title=\"What Does NATO Have To Do With The Ukraine-Russia Crisis?\">collective defense clause<\/a> of NATO, but our critical infrastructure was blown up by a country that we support with massive weapons shipments and billions in cash,&rdquo;&nbsp;a senior German official told the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em>, which revealed Berlin&rsquo;s findings in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/europe\/nord-stream-pipeline-explosion-real-story-da24839c\" title>new report<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n<p>The pipeline drove a major controversy within NATO from its inception because it would enable Russia to ship natural gas directly to Germany while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/RegData\/etudes\/BRIE\/2021\/690705\/EPRS_BRI(2021)690705_EN.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"bypassing\">bypassing<\/a> other central and Eastern European countries, such as Poland and Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>German authorities believe that the sabotage was organized by Ukrainian military leaders who relied on Ukrainian businessmen to &ldquo;finance and help execute the project,&rdquo; according to the report. Their assessment could stoke a controversy in NATO&rsquo;s intelligence and diplomatic circles, where some allies are keen to exonerate Ukraine.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;However, some Western and German intelligence officials &hellip; [have] doubts over Ukraine&rsquo;s responsibility, considering a so-called &lsquo;false flag operation&rsquo; aimed at covering up Russia&rsquo;s involvement,&rdquo; <em>Politico<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/nord-stream-pipeline-energy-supply-attack-ukraine-russia-war-putin-zelensky-gas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a>. &ldquo;This theory is particularly popular in Polish security circles, which sent a document with the names of Russian suspects to German&rsquo;s BND Federal Intelligence Service.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Russian officials have dismissed previous reports of Ukraine&rsquo;s involvement, as they instead characterize the operation as a U.S. initiative conducted at the expense of its own allies. &ldquo;Such an explosion, so powerful and at such depth, could only be conducted by experts backed by the entire potential of a state that has relevant technologies,&rdquo; Russian President Vladimir Putin <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/nord-stream-explosions-putin-ukraine-us-0f05cb0bfd3f3e5f35968356404f5563\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n<p>The pipelines exploded in September of 2022, just as Polish officials inaugurated the opening of a pipeline from Norway that European allies regarded as a replacement for Russia&rsquo;s natural gas. The Kremlin, at the time, was throttling the provision of natural gas as winter approached, in an apparent effort to use Germany&rsquo;s need for the gas as leverage to undermine Western support for Ukraine.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Ukraine&rsquo;s involvement in the Nord Stream explosions is absolute nonsense. There was no practical sense in such actions for Ukraine,&rdquo; Podolyak <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/live-news\/20240815-ukraine-rejects-as-nonsense-alleged-role-in-nord-stream-blasts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told<\/a> <em>AFP<\/em>. &ldquo;It is clear that the explosions of the Nord Stream pipelines did not stop the war, did not deter Russian aggression, and did not affect the situation on the front line.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In any case, one Nord Stream line came through the sabotage unscathed, as Putin has emphasized in public calls for Germany to continue purchasing Russian gas. &ldquo;Can we restart Nord Stream 2? We can! It would take a week. But they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/despite-insistence-by-democrat-politicians-and-medical-elites-empirical-evidence-does-not-conclusively-show-that-masks-reduce-the-spread-of-covid\/\" title=\"Despite Insistence by Democrat Politicians and Medical Elites, Empirical Evidence DOES NOT Conclusively Show that Masks Reduce the Spread of COVID\">don&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t want to,&rdquo; Putin <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3121443\/nord-stream-2-bombing-suspect-escapes-poland-germany-arrest-warrant\/\">said<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1731580\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1731580\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zelensky&#8217;s team refutes involvement in Nord Stream 2 sabotage<\/p>\n<p>The team of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected any connection to the sabotage of Russia&#8217;s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, following Germany&#8217;s decision to charge a Ukrainian diving instructor, which has prompted new evaluations from Western sources. Mikhail Podolyak, a senior advisor to Zelensky, stated to Reuters that &#8220;Such an act requires significant technical and financial resources&#8230; and who had access to those at the time of the incident? Only Russia.&#8221; He emphasized that Ukraine is not linked to the explosions at Nord Stream.<\/p>\n<p>Ukraine\u2019s denials are facing increased scrutiny after Poland revealed that a Ukrainian suspect managed to evade a German arrest warrant by leaving Warsaw for Ukraine this summer. The findings from Germany\u2019s investigation could strain Berlin&#8217;s relationship with Kyiv amid ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which NATO allies recognize as crucial for Western security. A high-ranking German official remarked in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that &#8220;An attack of this magnitude could trigger NATO\u2019s collective defense clause; however, our critical infrastructure was destroyed by a country we support with substantial military aid and financial assistance.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The pipeline has been contentious within NATO since its inception because it allows Russia to transport natural gas directly to Germany while bypassing other Central and Eastern European nations like Poland and Ukraine. According to reports, German authorities suspect that Ukrainian military leaders orchestrated the sabotage with assistance from local businessmen for financing and execution. This assessment may ignite debate within NATO intelligence circles where some allies are eager to clear Ukraine of blame.<\/p>\n<p>However, certain Western and German intelligence officials harbor doubts about Ukraine&#8217;s culpability, considering theories suggesting it might have been a &#8220;false flag operation&#8221; intended to obscure Russian involvement\u2014a notion particularly prevalent among Polish security experts who have shared names of potential Russian suspects with Germany\u2019s BND Federal Intelligence Service.<\/p>\n<p>Russian officials have dismissed claims regarding Ukraine&#8217;s participation in the incident, instead alleging it was orchestrated by U.S. interests at their allies&#8217; expense. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted that such powerful explosions occurring at great depths could only be executed by state-backed experts possessing relevant technologies.<\/p>\n<p>The pipelines were damaged in September 2022 coinciding with Poland inaugurating its own pipeline from Norway\u2014seen as an alternative source for European allies amid reduced gas supplies from Russia as winter approached; this was perceived as an attempt by Moscow to leverage Germany\u2019s energy needs against support for Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>Podolyak reiterated his stance on AFP stating: \u201cClaims about Ukraine being involved in the Nord Stream explosions are utterly absurd. There was no logical reason for such actions on our part.\u201d He added that these explosions did not halt hostilities or deter Russian aggression nor did they change conditions on the battlefield.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of these events, one line of Nord Stream remained intact post-sabotage; Putin has publicly urged Germany earlier this year about resuming purchases of Russian gas: \u201cCan we restart Nord Stream 2? Yes! It would take just one week. But they don\u2019t want it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2743,"featured_media":2325282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/ns2-blast.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[38153,9918,6991,32076,8630],"class_list":["post-2325281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-nord-stream-2","tag-sabotage","tag-ukraine","tag-washington-examiner","tag-zelensky"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/ns2-blast.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2325281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2743"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2325281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2325281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2325282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2325281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2325281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2325281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}