FACTOR NORD STREAM BLASTS INTO KYIV’S EU BID – German prosecutors charged a former Ukrainian army officer for the blasts
The Kremlin said on Friday (July 3) that the European Union should consider Ukraine’s suspected involvement in blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022 when deciding whether to grant EU membership to Kyiv.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was commenting after German federal prosecutors charged a former Ukrainian army officer in connection with the blasts.
The man, named only as Serhii K., was accused of being the co-perpetrator of a war crime and acting on behalf of Ukrainian state entities.
Authorities in Kyiv said on Thursday they did not have enough information about the case to respond in detail to German prosecutors’ allegations.
Peskov said the case showed the involvement of the Ukrainian state in what he called “a terrorist act targeting critical European Union infrastructure.”
“This is highly significant and, naturally, all EU countries must take this case into account when discussing the prospects of Ukraine’s EU membership, closer ties with the EU, and so forth,” Peskov told reporters.
The explosions damaged the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, a vital route for Russian gas exports to Europe, as well as the Nord Stream 2 branch, which had yet to enter service.
Moscow has long accused Kyiv of being behind the explosions, which followed Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Kyiv denies ordering, carrying out or being officially involved in the blasts.
