Ukraine has denied any involvement in final 12 months’s explosions that broken the Nordstream fuel pipelines connecting Russia and western Europe, after media stories within the US and Germany instructed pro-Ukrainian operatives might have been behind the assaults.

“Though I get pleasure from gathering amusing conspiracy theories about Ukraine’s authorities, I’ve to say: Ukraine has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea mishap and has no details about ‘pro-Ukrainian sabotage teams,’” Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

Podolyak was reacting to a report in The New York Instances that mentioned US officers had reviewed new intelligence suggesting a “pro-Ukrainian group” had carried out the underwater bombings hitting each the Nordstream 1 and a couple of pipelines within the Baltic Sea in late September of 2022.

The Nordstream pipelines have lengthy been criticised by Ukrainian officers as a logo of the EU’s dependence on Russian power provides each earlier than and after the full-blown invasion of Ukraine that started in February 2022.

German day by day newspaper Die Zeit reported that officers investigating the explosions had additionally discovered indications that the perpetrators had been linked to Ukraine, although it added they’d not but established who ordered the assault.

The newspaper, citing sources in a number of nations interviewed in an investigation with the German public broadcaster ARD, mentioned that investigators had recognized the boat that was believed to have carried out the sabotage operation.

The seaborne operation, it mentioned, was carried out by 5 males — a captain, two divers and two diving assistants — together with a feminine physician. The nationality of the suspected saboteurs, who used solid passports, was unknown, in line with the report.

Die Zeit mentioned that the group set off from the north German city of Rostock on the Baltic coast on September 6, 20 days earlier than the explosions, and was later situated on the Danish island of Christiansø.

The boat was finally returned to its proprietor in an uncleaned state, and investigators discovered traces of explosives within the cabin, in line with the report.

John Kirby, a spokesperson for the US Nationwide Safety Council, mentioned the Biden administration would watch for the end result of formal probes into the explosions by Germany, Sweden and Denmark earlier than drawing any conclusions.

“We have to let these investigations conclude. And solely then ought to we be taking a look at what follow-on actions may or might not be applicable,” Kirby advised reporters.

A German authorities spokesperson mentioned: “The federal authorities has taken word of the newest report by The New York Instances. The Federal Public Prosecutor has been investigating the matter because the starting of October 2022. He due to this fact has authority over the process.”

The spokesperson added: “A couple of days in the past, Sweden, Denmark and Germany knowledgeable the United Nations Safety Council that the investigations are ongoing and that there are nonetheless no outcomes.”