Russia Accuses West of Hiding Truth on Nord Stream Blasts
Moscow Targets NATO Claims Over Nord Stream Sabotage
Moscow: Russia today accused Western countries of attempting to evade responsibility for the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea and criticised Germany, Denmark and Sweden for what it described as a selective and politically motivated investigation into the 2022 explosions.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Western governments continued to promote what she termed an implausible narrative that the attack was carried out by “amateur divers”, despite the scale and complexity of the operation indicating the involvement of professional operatives supported by intelligence agencies.
Her remarks followed a letter circulated in January 2026 by Germany, Denmark and Sweden to the United Nations Security Council outlining progress in their investigations into the Nord Stream blasts. The letter said that in November 2025, a Ukrainian citizen identified as S. Kuznetsov, suspected of involvement in the attack, had been extradited from Italy to Germany.
Zakharova said this development was already widely known and concerned a Ukrainian intelligence operative who had earlier been detained on suspicion of participating in the sabotage. She criticised repeated assertions by Berlin that its investigation was “independent” and “impartial” and based on the rule of law and international obligations.
“The world community is once again being subtly encouraged to believe that this complex and labour-intensive act of terrorism was the work of self-taught divers,” Zakharova said. “One does not need to be an expert to understand the absurdity of such claims. Such a large-scale operation is beyond the capabilities of amateurs and could only have been carried out by professionals under the supervision of intelligence services.”
The Nord Stream blasts occurred on September 26, 2022, when a series of underwater explosions damaged sections of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm. The pipelines, built to transport Russian natural gas to Germany, were not operational at the time but still contained pressurised gas. Seismic monitoring stations in the region recorded the explosions, and investigations by Denmark, Sweden and Germany concluded that the damage was caused by deliberate sabotage involving powerful explosive charges. The incident disabled three of the four pipeline lines and led to one of the largest known releases of methane from a single human-caused event. Despite multiple national probes, no state or organisation has been officially identified as responsible, and the case remains unresolved, making the sabotage a continuing source of geopolitical tension and controversy.
Zakharova said Western governments had refused to examine other versions of responsibility for the attack, including allegations that Western intelligence agencies carried out the sabotage under the cover of NATO naval exercises.
Her remarks referred to a controversial report published on February 8, 2023, by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, titled “How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline” on his Substack newsletter.
In that report, Hersh alleged that the United States, acting under direct orders from President Joe Biden, carried out the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea on September 26, 2022. He claimed the operation was planned beginning in late 2021, months before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, driven by concerns within the Biden administration that Europe’s dependence on Russian gas could weaken Western unity and support for Ukraine.
According to Hersh, US Navy divers trained at the Navy’s Diving and Salvage Centre in Panama City, Florida, planted remotely triggered C-4 explosives on the pipelines during the NATO BALTOPS 22 naval exercise in June 2022, using the drills as cover for the covert mission. The explosives were allegedly detonated three months later through a sonar buoy dropped by a Norwegian Navy P-8 aircraft.
The report further alleged that Norway assisted in the operation by providing logistical and operational support, motivated by shared strategic interests in reducing Russian gas dominance in Europe.
Hersh cited public statements made by President Joe Biden in February 2022 — when he said that “there will no longer be a Nord Stream 2” if Russia invaded Ukraine — as well as remarks by senior US official Victoria Nuland, as evidence of prior intent to neutralise the pipelines. He argued that the sabotage was meant to prevent Europe from negotiating energy arrangements with Russia, particularly as winter approached and some European allies showed signs of hesitation over continued support for Ukraine.
The entire account relied on a single anonymous source described as having direct knowledge of the operational planning.
The report gained traction in alternative and independent media and was widely amplified by Russian state outlets such as RT and TASS. It was cited in debates in the German Bundestag and raised by Russia at a United Nations Security Council meeting to press for an independent international investigation.
However, the White House, the CIA and the Norwegian government categorically denied the allegations, calling them “utterly false”, “complete fiction” and baseless. Mainstream Western media treated the report with scepticism, pointing to the lack of corroborating evidence, reliance on a single unnamed source and questions over specific technical and timeline details.
Several analytical reviews described the scenario as theoretically conceivable, given long-standing US opposition to the pipelines, but unsupported by verifiable proof. Critics also pointed to unresolved issues, including the precise method of detonation and competing explanations that later emerged, such as a possible Ukrainian-linked group’s involvement.
Hersh has defended his reporting in interviews with outlets such as Democracy Now! and Berliner Zeitung, and in follow-up Substack posts including “A Year of Lying About Nord Stream”, arguing that mainstream media had ignored his findings and that the United States had a clear strategic motive to weaken energy ties between Europe and Russia.
As of February 2026, no official investigation has confirmed or definitively refuted Hersh’s core claims. Ongoing probes, including those led by Germany, have instead focused on other leads involving suspected Ukrainian nationals such as S. Kuznetsov and V. Zhuravlev, which Russian officials have dismissed as cover stories or diversionary tactics.
Zakharova also rejected claims that Germany had fulfilled its international legal obligations in the investigation. She said that under the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, Denmark, Germany and Sweden were required to conduct a comprehensive and good-faith investigation into the attack, which caused serious economic and environmental damage to the region.
She added that the same conventions required cooperation with other countries conducting parallel investigations. However, she alleged that Berlin, Copenhagen and Stockholm had consistently avoided working with Russia to establish the truth.
According to Zakharova, Denmark and Sweden at one point terminated their national investigations altogether, stating that nothing more could be found. “The absence of visible results did not trouble them in the least, and the cases were simply closed,” she said.
Russia reiterated that the circumstances of the attack required full clarification and that all those responsible must be held accountable. Zakharova said this applied equally to any possible involvement of Ukrainian citizens, regardless of whether their role was in planning, planting explosives, detonating devices or serving as a diversion to mislead investigators.
She also criticised Western investigators for failing to mention other Ukrainian suspects, including a man identified as V. Zhuravlev, who has been placed on an international wanted list. According to Russia, Zhuravlev is believed to be in Poland, but Warsaw has refused to extradite him to Germany, allegedly in violation of its international obligations.
Zakharova further accused Ukraine of failing to conduct any investigation of its own and of serving as a “safe haven” for individuals involved in the pipeline sabotage.
Russia said it would continue to seek accountability for the Nord Stream explosions through diplomatic and legal channels, including at the United Nations Security Council.
“No destructive steps by Western countries will change our position or our determination to ensure justice,” Zakharova said. “Sooner or later, those responsible for this act of sabotage will be brought to account.”
The Nord Stream pipelines, which once carried Russian gas to Europe through the Baltic Sea, were severely damaged by explosions in September 2022. The incident remains one of the most politically sensitive and disputed acts of infrastructure sabotage linked to the Ukraine conflict.
– global bihari bureau
