Zelensky`s top aide rejects allegation regarding Kiev`s involvement in Nord Stream attack

(MENAFN) Mikhail Podoliak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, has strongly denied any Ukrainian involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. Speaking to Reuters on Thursday, Podoliak responded to a report by the Wall Street Journal that suggested Zelensky had initially authorized the attack on the pipelines, only to later attempt to abort the operation under pressure from the CIA. The sabotage, which occurred in September 2022, resulted in significant damage to the pipelines that transport Russian gas to Germany and other Western European nations.

According to the Wall Street Journal's sources, including individuals allegedly involved in the operation, Zelensky had approved the attack but later sought to cancel it. However, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny reportedly informed Zelensky that it was too late to stop the operation, as the sabotage team had already been deployed and could not be reached.

Podoliak dismissed these claims, asserting that such an operation would require substantial technical and financial resources that only Russia possessed at the time of the attack. He criticized the notion that Ukraine would benefit from the destruction of the pipelines, arguing that there was no strategic or tactical gain for Kiev.

Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have previously dismissed the idea that Russia would target its own pipelines, which were a crucial source of revenue. Moscow has suggested that the United States had the most to gain from disrupting Russian gas supplies to the European Union.

Podoliak's comments underscore Ukraine's position that it was not involved in the Nord Stream sabotage and emphasize the lack of strategic advantage for Ukraine in such an act.

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