US says intelligence points to pro-Ukrainian group sabotaging Nord Stream pipeline: NYT

By Jonathan Landay, Simon Lewis and Olena Harmash

WASHINGTON/KIEV, March 7 (Reuters) – New U.S. intelligence says a pro-Ukrainian group sabotaged Nord Stream pipelines carrying natural gas from Russia to Europe, but found no evidence of the Kyiv government involvement in the September 2022 attack, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. The United States and NATO called the attacks, seven months after Russia invaded Ukraine, an “act of sabotage”, which destroyed three of the four gas pipelines.

Moscow blamed Western supporters of Ukraine and called on the UN Security Council to conduct an independent investigation. None of the parties provided evidence.

Citing US officials, The New York Times said there was no evidence that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky or his top advisers were involved in the operation, or that the perpetrators were acting at the request of an official. of the Ukrainian government. Responding to the report, Zelensky’s top adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, told Reuters that the Kyiv government was “not involved at all” in the sabotage and had no information about what happened. Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy, told Reuters the report showed Moscow’s push for the Security Council to set up an independent investigation was “very timely” and that he would try to vote on a draft resolution at the end. Of March. The Times wrote that the intelligence review suggested that those who carried out the attacks, who spewed gas into the Baltic Sea, were Ukrainian or Russian citizens who opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin, “but it does not specify members of the group, or who directed or paid for the operation.” “US officials would not disclose the nature of the information, how it was obtained, or details about the strength of the evidence. They said there were no definitive conclusions on this,” the Times added. The Nord Stream gas pipelines, built by Russian company Gazprom, linked Russia and Germany, and have long been opposed by Ukraine because they would have allowed Moscow to sell more gas to Western Europe.

Gazprom representatives also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The German government said it took note of the Times report, but its own investigation had yet to produce results.

Sweden, Denmark and Germany informed the Security Council days ago that investigations were continuing and still had no results, a German government spokesman said. BATTLE FOR BAKHMUTH In its invasion, which marks a year since February 24, Moscow has sent thousands of troops in waves over the past few weeks to try to capture the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmuth and securing his first battlefield victory in over six months.

Ukrainian forces dug trenches further west and in recent days appeared to be preparing to withdraw. However, Zelensky publicly promised on Tuesday that his troops would hold on to Bakhmut, seemingly prolonging the bloodiest battle of the war in an attempt to subdue Moscow’s assault force. His remarks in a late-night speech suggested that Kiev had decided not just to stay and fight, but to strengthen the city, apparently convinced that Russia’s losses in attempting to storm it would be greater than those defenders. “I told the commander-in-chief to find the right forces to help our men in Bakhmut,” Zelenskiy said. Russia, which claims to have annexed nearly 20% of Ukrainian territory, says taking Bakhmut would be a step towards conquering the surrounding industrial region of Donbass, one of the main objectives of the war. “The liberation of Artemovsk continues,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in televised remarks, using the Soviet-era name of Bakhmut, taken over by the Russians. “The city is an important center for the defense of Ukrainian troops in the Donbass. Taking it will allow more offensive actions to be carried out deep into the defensive lines of Ukraine.” Western strategists say the ruined city is of limited value and that Russia’s assault could be aimed at a symbolic victory after a winter offensive involving hundreds of thousands of conscripted reservists and fighters from Wagner’s private army. .

(Reporting from Reuters offices; Editing in Spanish by Javier López de Lérida)