Zaluzhny on Nord Stream: I have nothing to do with it, this issue has become political

Ukraine’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom and former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valeriy Zaluzhny, insists he has nothing to do with the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

"Finally, this question has been publicly raised and addressed to me personally. I personally have nothing to do with this," Zaluzhny said when speaking at Chatham House in London on the eve of the anniversary of the full-scale war in Ukraine, answering a question about whether the two Ukrainians accused of planning and carrying out the attack, who are now in custody, informed him of their intentions before the explosion.

"Of course, I’ve sent a number of inquiries to the prosecutor’s office, the German prosecutor’s office. Of course, I understand all the legal nuances, and the German prosecutor’s office isn’t obligated to inform me, but, of course, I’m worried about this. I’m worried about this because I can’t have any involvement in this process, either theoretically or practically," the diplomat added.

At the same time, he expressed conviction that “this process, for some reason, from the point of view of a purely legal criminal vision, has moved more, perhaps, into the political plane.”

"Well, for example, you probably know as well as I do that Nord Stream itself and Germany have nothing to do with each other. Nord Stream is the property of Gazprom. So, I wonder why the German government is so concerned about Russian property. Furthermore, the German government itself has repeatedly said that this was a mistake, and they no longer, let’s say, see any political necessity in it," Zaluzhny stated.

He also noted that in the Nord Stream case, "a fight for insurance payments has begun," which "is gaining momentum and is trying to capture more and more participants."

"However, I believe in European justice. We learn from European justice. And despite the fact that there are people arrested and in custody, I know that we ourselves are moving toward European justice. Therefore, I will not judge the actions of law enforcement agencies. I know that this justice must be fair," the ambassador emphasized.

"I’m repeating for the first time in public that I have nothing to do with this. Whether that’s unfortunate or fortunate—let everyone draw their own conclusions," Zaluzhny concluded.

It was also previously reported that German prosecutors accused Ukrainian citizen Serhiy Kuznetsov, a suspect in the Nord Stream gas pipeline bombing case, of belonging to a group of individuals who planted devices on pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. He was charged with conspiracy to commit an explosion, unconstitutional sabotage, and the destruction of important facilities.

In November 2025, Kuznetsov, suspected of sabotaging Russia’s Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, was arrested in Germany after being extradited from Italy. "An arrest warrant has been executed in connection with the suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines. An investigating judge of the Federal Court executed the arrest warrant for Ukrainian citizen Serhiy K. today (November 28, 2025)," the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said on its website.

Additionally, on September 30, Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Zh. was arrested in Poland on suspicion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosion. He was wanted on a European Arrest Warrant issued by German intelligence. In October, a Polish court refused to extradite the suspect to Germany and ordered his immediate release.

German authorities have issued arrest warrants for seven people as part of their investigation into the bombings of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.