Zelenskyy: Ukraine was not behind Nord Stream sabotage and is willing to assist investigation

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stressed that Ukraine is willing to help its partners investigate the Nord Stream case and that it was behind neither the planning nor the execution of the operation.

Source: Zelenskyy speaking to journalists at a meeting with leaders of the Nordic-Baltic Eight countries, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zelenskyy was asked to comment on new developments in the Nord Stream case, to which the president stressed that Ukraine had never officially taken part in any operation related to the sabotage of Nord Stream 2.

Quote: "At a high level, we have discussed this with the German side. They know perfectly well that Ukraine was not behind the execution or the very concept of the execution of the relevant operation."

Details: Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine is "always willing to help" its partners regarding this case.

"We are always willing to help our partners. We have certainly been doing so. Our Prosecutor General's Office is dealing with this. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is dealing with this. There are constant interactions. We are open to everything," the Ukrainian president assured.

He also stressed that it is important for Ukraine not to lose the partnership and trust of European countries.

"Therefore, we are absolutely open to joint steps regarding the investigation," Zelenskyy added.

Background:

• On 19 August, Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office announced the detention in Croatia of Ukrainian national Volodymyr Zhuravliov in connection with the Nord Stream sabotage case.
• Zhuravliov was reportedly arrested in Croatia while filming a Hollywood movie about the sabotage. The film, titled Snake Island, is inspired by events surrounding the 2022 explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines off the German coast.
• This was the third attempt to arrest the Ukrainian national. German investigators first sought to arrest Zhuravliov under a European arrest warrant in the summer of 2024 in Poland, where he was living at the time. However, he managed to cross the border into Ukraine before he could be detained.
• A second opportunity arose in autumn 2025, when Zhuravliov returned from Ukraine to Poland. He was detained by local police at the time, but the case again did not lead to his extradition to Germany.
• Another suspect in the case, Ukrainian national Serhii Kuznetsov, has been in custody in Germany since he was detained during a holiday in Italy last summer.

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