Provocations and Attempted Terrorist Attacks on Ukrainian Section of Gas Pipeline Possible Due to Launch of Nord Stream 2

Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are considering various scenarios and intensifying their response, in particular at critical and gas infrastructure facilities due to the launch of Nord Stream 2.

Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov said this after exercises in the Kharkiv region, in which units of the National Police, the National Guard, the State Emergency Service, and the State Border Guard Service took part.

The Minister reminded that the day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced the completion of the construction of the first line of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

“Gas is still transported via our gas pipeline and must be transported for a while further, and then, probably, Putin plans to start bypassing Ukraine. Therefore, we expect … that there will be provocations, attempted terrorist attacks on our section of the gas pipeline and then they will say: ‘Look, you see, that’s why we transport it through Nord Stream 2.’ And we have enough such situations and information from intelligence agencies, so we, based on this, consider different scenarios and strengthen the response,” the Minister said.

The day before, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov stated that the Nord Stream 2 project poses a threat both to Ukraine and to many states that understand what the Russian Federation is.

“Discussions are ongoing today. In the United States, Republicans insist that sanctions be extended. Unfortunately, we do not have a direct opportunity to influence these processes, but believe me, all our diplomatic staff are involved in this process and are doing everything necessary to stop all this,” the Secretary said.

According to him, there are powerful players in Europe who are interested in cooperation with Russia.

“First of all, it is Germany and France, which are currently political and economic partners of the Russian Federation. And we are very upset about this, because these countries refused to provide the NATO Membership Action Plan to Georgia and Ukraine in 2008, when almost everything was ready,” Danilov said.

In his opinion, concern over violation of the borders of countries defined in 1991 is too little in the modern democratic world. The NSDC Secretary recalled that “concern” was expressed in 1937 and 1939, and it ended with the beginning of World War II.

Bohdan Marusyak