John Kirby calls Nord Stream pipeline blasts an ‘act of sabotage’

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday that the US believes “an act of sabotage” caused explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea last year. 

The multi-billion dollar Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines carry natural gas from Russia to Germany. Mysterious explosions in September of last year caused extensive damage along both pipelines, allowing leaking natural gas to bubble up through the Baltic Sea.  

“We still do believe it was an act of sabotage,” Kirby told reporters during a White House press briefing on Wednesday. 

Kirby emphasized that the United States “was not involved in any way,” contrary to some allegations, including by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh, who in February accused US Navy divers of planting bombs along the pipeline. 

When asked about the blasts earlier this month, Kirby said he didn’t want to get ahead of investigations into the explosions being conducted by Germany, Sweden and Denmark. 

“So, I’m just not going to get ahead of that investigative work and I would have to refer you to each of those European countries to comment on their investigations,” Kirby said at the time. 

The New York Times reported earlier this month that intelligence reviewed by US officials suggests that a pro-Ukraine group was responsible for the attacks, possibly as retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of last year. 

US officials told the outlet that there is no evidence that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky or his top aides were involved or that the Ukrainian government otherwise directed those who attacked the pipelines. 

In September, President Biden called the gas leaks a “deliberate act of sabotage.”

“And now the Russians are pumping out disinformation and lies,” Biden told reporters at the time. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of sabotaging the Russia-built natural gas pipelines after they were largely condemned by the West as a national security threat in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion.