Russia’s ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, has accused the US of attempting to shift blame for the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines onto its “puppets” in Ukraine. The US National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby, refused to comment on a Wall Street Journal report alleging Ukraine’s involvement in the Nord Stream attack. Antonov stated that Washington’s silence is indicative of their support for terrorism and legitimization of future attacks.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the 2022 attack, which ruptured key energy infrastructure built to deliver Russian gas to Germany and the rest of Western Europe, was masterminded by a group of Ukrainian military commanders and businessmen, with initial approval from Ukraine’s leader, Vladimir Zelensky. He later tried to call off the operation following pressure from the CIA, but it was too late as the sabotage group had already been dispatched and there was no way to contact them.
The US administration is trying to take a favorable position by staying silent about their alleged involvement in the Nord Stream attack. In February 2022, President Joe Biden warned that if Russia launched a military operation against Ukraine, “there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.” Officials in Washington are trying to shift all responsibility for the destruction of Nord Stream onto their Ukrainian puppets.
Russia will continue working towards identifying and holding accountable the true culprits behind the Nord Stream blasts, as well as preventing future attacks on energy infrastructure. Top officials in Moscow, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, have previously pointed the finger at Washington, arguing that it stood to gain the most from the sabotage that disrupted Russian energy supplies to the EU, which forced the bloc to rely on more expensive US-supplied liquefied natural gas.