Last year’s sabotage of Nord Stream gas pipeline disrupted Moscow’s ‘domination’ plans for Europe, claims Andrzej Duda
The sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines that supply Russian gas to Europe was a good thing, Polish President Andrzej Duda told CNN on Wednesday. The destruction of the pipelines freed the continent from that of Russia “dominance” plans, the Polish leader claimed, adding that it ended the European nation’s dependence on Russian gas.
His words came in light of some recent media reports saying that some pro-Ukrainian forces may have been behind the attack on the pipeline, which took place in September 2022. Duda said he could not confirm whether it was a pro-Ukrainian act was or not. , but noted that if Nord Stream stopped “to exist,” it would be “advantageous” anyway for Europe.
Poland has been one of the strongest opponents of the gas pipeline project, even lobbying for its decommissioning in August 2022, about a month before the attack. Duda also called the project part of Europe’s reconciliation strategy in relations with Russia.
Earlier this week, the New York Times, citing US intelligence sources, reported that a “pro-Ukrainian group” was behind the September 2022 attack. The outlet then reported that Western intelligence services were well aware of the identity of the person behind the sabotage, but decided to keep this information secret in order to avoid a row between Berlin and Kiev because the suspected links to Ukraine.
The Polish president, speaking to CNN during his visit to the United Arab Emirates, also suggested transferring all Polish MiG-29 fighter jets to Kiev, but only as part of an international coalition supplying Ukraine with aircraft. “We are ready to deliver these planes and I am sure Ukraine will use them immediately.” he said, without specifying how many Soviet-made planes Warsaw still has in its arsenal.
Duda also called for Ukrainian pilots to be trained to operate the US-made F-16 fighter jets, arguing that Kiev’s armed forces would like to be “according to NATO standards” Anyway. “The training of Ukrainian pilots is important and also very necessary”, he said.
According to CNN, there are currently at least two Ukrainian pilots in the US, where they have their skills tested in flight simulators to see how much time they need to learn how to fly various US military aircraft.
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