By Pavel Polityuk

KYIV (Reuters) – Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied his country’s involvement in the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, instead pointing the finger at Russia in comments to Reuters on Thursday.

“Such an act can only be carried out with extensive technical and financial resources… and who possessed all this at the time of the bombing? Only Russia,” Podolyak stated in his written comments.

The multi-billion dollar Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which transport gas under the Baltic Sea, were ruptured by a series of explosions in September 2022, seven months after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Polish prosecutors indicated that Poland had received a European arrest warrant issued by Berlin in connection with the attack. However, the suspect, a Ukrainian man named Volodymyr Z, has already left Poland.

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that top Ukrainian officials were involved in the incidents.

“Ukraine has nothing to do with the Nord Stream explosions,” Podolyak emphasized, adding that Ukraine did not gain any strategic or tactical advantage from the blasts.

Russia has pointed fingers at the United States, Britain, and Ukraine for the explosions, which largely cut Russian gas off from the lucrative European market. Those countries have denied any involvement.

Germany, Denmark, and Sweden have all opened investigations into the incident. Swedish authorities found traces of explosives on various objects recovered from the explosion site, confirming that the blasts were deliberate acts.