President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine played no role in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Europe, following the arrest in Croatia of a second Ukrainian suspect sought by Germany. 

“Ukraine has never even been involved in even the idea of ​​this operation,” Zelenskyy told reporters during the Ukraine Nordic-Baltic summit in Kyiv on Sunday. “I hope there will be results of the investigation. We are ready to help.”

Croatian police arrested a Ukrainian national identified only as Vladimir Z. at Germany’s request, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said on Wednesday. He’s a trained scuba diver who was allegedly part of a group that used explosives to blow up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in September 2022, according to German authorities.

Last year, Ukrainian national Serhii K. was arrested in Italy and extradited to Germany where he was later charged over the sabotage.

The Nord Stream 1 undersea link via the Baltic Sea to Germany was the main route for Russian pipeline gas flows before the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, while the second pipeline was completed but never operated. In 2021, the year before the war started, Nord Stream 1 delivered more than a third of Russia’s total gas exports to Europe.

There’s been intense speculation over who was responsible for the attacks. Russia blamed it on the US, Ukraine and Poland and called them “beneficiaries” of the blasts.

Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office and the Foreign Ministry were engaged on the issue. 

“It is important for us now not to lose partnerships with the countries involved,” he told reporters. “We are open to joint steps to clarify all circumstances.” 

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

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