Ukraine is now being blamed for the Nord Stream attack...

 

The aftermath of the attack. BBC/Reuters. 

Ukraine has denied involvement in the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines after two reports in western media have blamed them for the incident. BBC. A report from the New York Times blamed the attack on a pro-Ukraine group. The report also absolved Ukrainian President Zelenskyy of any knowledge of the attack. A German newspaper, Die Zeit, claimed that it had discovered a boat that was supposedly involved in the attack was hired from Poland by two Ukrainians, though who actually used the boat or ordered the attack was a mystery. The Nord Stream pipelines supplied Russian natural gas to Europe and its destruction has had a major effect on countries like Germany. 

My Comment:

It's not often that I defend Ukraine but I sincerely doubt that they had anything to do with the Nord Stream attack. When the attack happened I largely dismissed the possibility for what should be obvious reasons. Ukraine doesn't have a navy anymore and I doubt they have the kind of experienced divers that could pull this off. 

Is it possible? Sure. The pipelines were not that deep in the water and the idea that Ukraine could subcontract it out isn't impossible. What is unbelievable is that some non-state affiliated group could have done this without approval from Zelenskyy. Since this was an act of war against not only Russia, but also Ukraine's supposed ally, Germany, I can't see them doing this as a rogue action. 

Of course the BBC report ignored the claims made by Seymour Hersh that it was America and Norway that took out the pipeline. I know that Hersh is persona non-grata in the news industry due to relying on anonymous sources (which the national media is just as guilty of) but the report was at least as plausible as the reporting on Ukraine being the one responsible. 

I personally think that the United States was the obvious suspect in this attack because they are one of only a few countries that would gain much from it. Obviously Russia isn't going to blow up their own pipeline and Germany isn't either. Ukraine would gain from it but I just don't see them pulling it off. That leaves the United States as a prime suspect, along with the gas-rich Scandinavian countries, and Poland. 

My guess is these reports are an attempt to distract against the allegations by Hersh and others that the United States was behind the attack. The attack on the Nord Stream pipeline would provide a casus belli for both Russia and Germany against whoever committed the attack. The United States needs plausible deniability for responsibility of the attack and what better fall guy than Ukraine? They are already at war with Russia and they probably hope that Russia will fall for the scheme. That's my take on it anyways.