Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated on Sunday that Ukraine played no role in the September 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, while confirming that Kyiv is cooperating with an ongoing investigation that has recently led to arrests in Europe.
The sabotage targeted the Nord Stream infrastructure, which was originally built to pump natural gas from Russia directly to Germany and the broader European market.
Zelenskyy Denies State Involvement Amid European Investigations
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, President Zelenskyy forcefully rejected allegations that the Ukrainian government ordered or executed the operation. The denial follows reports from German authorities alleging that the attack was directed by state actors in Ukraine and accompanied by recent arrests of Ukrainian nationals in Europe.
Ukraine has never officially taken part in any operation related to the blowing up of Nord Stream.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine
Zelenskyy added that Germany was well aware that Ukraine did not stand behind the execution or the very conception of this operation.
He emphasized the vital importance of maintaining trust with European allies who have supported Ukraine throughout the conflict, confirming that Kyiv is assisting German authorities with their investigation. He said that it was very important for us not to lose our partnership, not to lose the trust of European countries that have been helping Ukraine since the very beginning of this war.
The 2022 Seabed Blasts and the Anatomy of an Unprecedented Attack
At 2:03 a.m. on Monday, September 26, 2022, an explosion tore open one of the four massive underwater conduits that make up the Nord Stream pipeline at the bottom of the Baltic Sea at a depth of 260 feet. The pipe, made of thick, concrete-encased steel, lay filled with highly compressed methane gas. Pressure readings showed a sudden plunge as compressed gas screamed through the breach at the speed of sound, tearing the pipe apart and carving deep craters on the seafloor. Gas escaped with enough force to propel a rocket into space, shooting up and creating a towering geyser above the surface of the water. The event registered with the force of a small earthquake on seismometers 15 miles away on the Danish island of Bornholm. Because the explosion occurred in Danish waters, Denmark dispatched an airplane to investigate, and the Danish Maritime Authority ordered ships to steer clear while airspace was restricted. Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines between Russia and Germany were damaged in explosions in September 2022. Nord Stream had been built in two phases, NS-1 and NS-2, each consisting of two pipes labeled A and B, reaching across 760 miles of seafloor from Russia to Germany. The ruptured pipe appeared to be NS-2A. Last week, a Ukrainian man was arrested in Croatia for his alleged participation in the sabotage.
Shifting Suspects and Conflicting Geopolitical Narratives
Investigations by European nations have taken several turns since the initial blasts. German authorities alleged last month that the attack had been ordered by the Ukrainian state, while a second Ukrainian national was also detained over the blasts this week. In early 2026, German authorities detained the first suspect, a Ukrainian national Serhii K., and alleged that he and six accomplices had acted on the orders of state authorities in Ukraine. Prosecutors said the plan was to destroy the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines with the objective of permanently halting gas supplies via the pipelines and preventing Russia from using the revenue from natural gas trade to finance its war efforts. German’s Die Zeit newspaper and German public broadcasters ARD and SWR reported that investigators believed five men and a woman used a yacht hired by a Ukrainian-owned company in Poland to carry out the attack, and German federal prosecutors confirmed that a boat was searched in January but have not confirmed the reported findings. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday dismissed as “sheer nonsense” allegations that Ukrainians could be behind the blasts that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea last year, and again pointed the finger at the US. Putin spoke after The New York Times, The Washington Post and German media published stories citing unidentified US and other officials as saying there was evidence Ukraine, or at least Ukrainians, may have been responsible. Putin said that 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. The Russian leader insisted that the US had a motive to stage the explosion, saying it wanted to halt supplies of cheap Russian natural gas to Germany and to provide it with more expensive liquefied natural gas. The Kremlin described the claims about Ukrainian involvement in the explosions as part of a cover-up by the West, and Putin charged that European leaders’ attitude reflected Europe’s subservient position in relation to the US, stating that the Europeans have lost a gene of independence, sovereignty and national interest. US officials initially suggested that Russia might have been to blame, while Russia blamed the US and Britain, and no group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Diplomatic Stakes for Kyiv and European Partnerships
For the Ukrainian government, managing the diplomatic fallout of the expanding investigation is critical as two Ukrainian suspects are currently in custody on suspicion of involvement. As European prosecutors pursue the case, Zelenskyy hopes not to lose trust among the European countries that have been helping Ukraine since the very beginning of this war.
With suspects now in custody in Croatia and Germany following the September 2022 sabotage, legal proceedings will continue to test the diplomatic ties between Kyiv and its Western partners as investigators attempt to definitively establish who planned and executed the destruction of Europe’s natural gas delivery infrastructure.
