In light of the latest information on Kyiv’s involvement in sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, can Ukraine still be called ’Defender of Europe’?
August 2024 has proved to be a particularly hot month, not only due to record high temperatures across Europe, but also as a result of developments in the Russo-Ukrainian war, including the incursion by Ukrainian troops into Russia’s Kursk Region and the latest information about the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline in 2022.
Roughly at the same time as the Polish prosecutors received a European arrest warrant issued by Berlin in connection with the attack, the Wall Street Journal published an investigation into the Nord Stream pipeline explosions, claiming that the operation was approved by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who later tried to cancel it once the CIA became aware of it.
In its article ’A Drunken Evening, a Rented Yacht: The Real Story of the Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage’, the WSJ says that in May 2022, several high-ranking Ukrainian military officers and businessmen gathered at a meeting, at which one participant, under the strong influence of alcohol and patriotic feelings, proposed to destroy the gas pipeline. According to the WSJ, the operation was led by an unnamed Ukrainian general who directly reported to the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi who currently serves as Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK.
Ukraine has so far denied the allegations.
In an interview with Reuters, adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak denied his country’s involvement in Nord Stream explosions. ’Ukraine has nothing to do with the Nord Stream explosions,’ Podolyak said, adding that Ukraine did not gain any strategic or tactical advantage from the blasts. Ukraine presidential adviser denies Ukraine’s involvement in Nord Stream explosions | Reuters
Valerii Zaluzhnyi said that he was unaware of such an operation and that any allegations to the contrary were a simple provocation.
The White House decided not to comment on The Wall Street Journal’s article. National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby at a briefing said he is not going to comment on the Wall Street Journal reporting on this issue.
On the other side, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the scenario outlined by the US newspaper ridiculous and demanded that Berlin provide Moscow with reliable information on the attack on the gas pipelines. Lavrov also accused Washington of supporting the terrorist government of Ukraine, claiming that the US was actively involved in this operation.
To avoid getting lost in the pro and con statements it is worth taking a step back and assessing the situation from the perspective of an ordinary European citizen.
From this perspective, it is particularly shocking that not only the political and military leadership of the US, but also many European governments have been aware what really happened in the Baltic Sea on that particular night in May 2022, but they have all been lying to the international community. They lied when they claimed that Russia was the perpetrator of the attack, and they lied when they remained silent, hiding the facts from the public, without publishing the results of the specific investigations in their countries.
This incident not only demonstrates the low morale of European and US leaders, but also makes us ask the following question.
Will this latest news affect Ukraine’s image as ’Defender of Europe’? Can they change it?
Moreover, are those countries that have lied so far still ready to support Ukraine with billions of euros and arms deliveries while referring to it as ’Defender of Europe’? Despite Germany’s statement that the results of the investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline will not harm relations with Ukraine, in light of the many recent lies, this should not necessarily be taken seriously.
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