Leaks About Nord Stream Terrorist Attack Designed to Hide Truth, Russian Embassy in US Says

05:25 GMT, 8 March 2023

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Russian diplomats see Western media reports about the involvement of a pro-Ukrainian group in the terrorist attack on Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines as an attempt to mislead the probe into the incident, Andrey Ledenev, Minister Counselor of the Russian Embassy in the United States, said.

Sputnik

"We have no faith in the "impartiality" of the conclusions of the U.S. intelligence. We perceive anonymous "leaks" as nothing more than an attempt to confuse those who are sincerely trying to get to the bottom of things in this egregious crime. Shift the blame from the statesmen who ordered and coordinated the attacks in the Baltic Sea to some abstract individuals," Ledenev said in a statement posted in the embassy's Telegram channel.

"We are convinced that in the end justice will prevail. We shall spare no effort for this to happen," he added.

The report in US media, friendly to the White House, contradicts the conclusions of a journalistic investigation by Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh, who earlier accused the US administration and Norwegian authorities of blowing up Russia's Nord Stream pipelines.

"The mentioned article instantly got a “green light” in the local information field, literally being all over the media in a heartbeat. This is especially noteworthy given the attempts of the local officials and journalists to blatantly silence the resonant material of Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh on the same topic. As well as the administration's opposition to launching a comprehensive and independent investigation into this act of international terrorism against critical energy infrastructure," Ledenev said.

Nord Stream Sabotage

Kremlin: New Reports on Nord Stream Attacks Are Part of a Coordinated Disinformation Campaign

8 March 2023, 04:22 GMT

The response comes after American media reported on Tuesday, citing US officials, that according to new intelligence, a "pro-Ukrainian group" had carried out last year's attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines. A few hours later, the German press reported that the investigators had identified the vessel used to carry out the attack on the pipelines.

On September 26, 2022, three of the four strings of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines were damaged by underwater blasts. The US government has repeatedly denied involvement in the blowing up of the Russian pipelines. Moscow has demanded an open investigation.