Ukraine denies involvement in Nord Stream gas pipeline blasts

Denial comes after a report by the New York Times, which quoted anonymous American intelligence officials as suggesting a pro-Ukrainian group was guilty.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, said Ukraine “obsolutely was not included”.

Moscow dismissed the report as a “co-ordinated media campaign”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov questioned how the US could make assumptions without an investigation. It is obvious, the perpetrators of the attack want to draw attention,”, he told state news agency Ria-Novosti.

German media say investigators believe they have identified the boat used to deploy explosives.

Russian gas shipments were suspended before the explosions.

Russia closed the Nord Stream pipeline 1st in August last year, saying it needed maintenance. Nord Stream 2 was never in service, broadcast Clankosova.tv.

The exact cause of the 26 September bombings that hit natural gas pipelines is unknown, but is widely believed to have been attacked.

Moscow has blamed the West for the bombings and called on the UN Security Council to investigate them independently.

NATO and Western leaders have not directly accused Russia of attacking its pipelines, though the EU has earlier said Russia uses its gas pipelines as a weapon against the West.