Putin Rejects Theory About Ukrainian Role in Pipeline Blasts

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting on the implementation of the development program for cities in the Russian Far East via videoconference at the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant, a part of the Rostec's Russian Helicopters manufacturing company in Ulan-Ude, Republic of Buryatia, eastern Russia, on March 14, 2023. Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday dismissed as “sheer nonsense” allegations that Ukrainians could be behind the blasts that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea last year, and again pointed the finger at the United States.

Putin spoke after The New York Times, The Washington Post, and German media published stories last week citing unidentified U.S. and other officials as saying there was evidence Ukraine, or at least Ukrainians, may have been responsible. The Ukrainian government has denied involvement.