Zelensky’s aide denies Ukraine was behind Nord Stream sabotage act
Source: Reuters
Ukraine’s Presidential Office has flatly denied any involvement in the explosive sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines following emerging reports it was blown up by Ukrainian saboteurs. The allegations got a cold reaction from Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, who dismissed the idea that Ukraine was behind the sabotage attack
“Such an act can only be carried out with extensive technical and financial resources … and who possessed all this at the time of the bombing? Only Russia, said Zelensky’s aide in his comments for Reuters, arguing Kyiv gained no strategic or tactical advantage from the incident.
This denial comes after The Wall Street Journal dropped a report suggesting that president Zelensky might have given a go-ahead to the operation back in 2022. According to WSJ, Zelensky allegedly discussed the plot with top military officials and businessmen, including then-commander-in-chief Valeriy Zaluzhny. The report though claims Zelensky tried to call off the operation after the CIA got wind of it.
Sources also revealed that the plan, which reportedly required $300,000 to execute, was discussed in May 2022. Zelensky allegedly sought to halt the mission but the sabotage team was already out of contact and beyond recall. Despite an ongoing investigation in Germany, no direct link between Zelensky and the explosions has been established.
For his part, Zaluzhny has categorically denied any knowledge of such an operation, dismissing the rumors as “pure provocation.” He noted that the Ukrainian military lacks the authority to carry out such overseas missions, insisting he had no role in the alleged plot.
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.
During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.