It's been almost two years since somebody blew up the Nord Stream pipelines and the attack has evolved to be one of those scandals that never seems to die. Recent reporting from the Wall Street Journal strengthened claims that Ukraine was involved in the bombing at some level, though they almost certainly couldn't have done it alone. This weekend, Poland's Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, chimed in, seeming to suggest that everyone would be better off letting sleeping dogs lie. He said that those who initiated the project should "apologize and keep quiet." Tusk's remarks came after other sources once again claimed that Poland may have been involved in the attack and one of his deputies was forced to release a statement denying the claim. The entire debate continues to fly in the face of the White House's assertions that Russia was responsible. (Associated Press)

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Saturday reacted to reports that revived questions about who blew up the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022, saying the initiators of the gas pipeline project should “apologize and keep quiet.” That comment came after one of his deputies denied a claim that Warsaw was partly responsible for its damage.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Ukrainian authorities were responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in September 2022, a dramatic act of sabotage that cut Germany off from a key source of energy and worsened an energy crisis in Europe.

Germany was a partner with Russia in the pipeline project. Poland has long said its own security interests have been harmed by Nord Stream.

This latest chapter of the Nord Stream soap opera was kicked off by August Hanning, the former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency. His issue was centered more on funding and compensation than anything else. Germany was a partner with Russia in the original construction of the Nord Stream pipelines and they stood to see significant economic gains from having access to Russian natural gas on an ongoing basis. Poland was opposed to the pipelines, saying that they threatened its own economic interests. Hanning suggested that Poland must have at least been aware of the plans and that Germany should seek economic compensation from both Poland and Ukraine.

In terms of international intrigue, the entire Nord Stream saga has been a colossal joke from the beginning. The United States, Poland, and Ukraine all opposed the construction of the pipelines from the start back in 2011. That opposition had nothing to do with international politics or Ukrainian sovereignty. Russian natural gas had traditionally flowed westward through overland pipelines and the countries it traveled through all collected transport fees for allowing the shipping to continue. Nord Stream was shipping gas directly to Germany and cutting those other nations out of their share of the pie.

The dogged journalism that has revealed more of the backstory behind all of this over the past two years has done nothing to change my original estimation of the situation. The White House's claims that Russia must have blown up their own pipelines for some reason were always patently ridiculous. Ukraine obviously would have been motivated to see the pipelines as a legitimate target since Russia was in the process of invading them again, but they simply lacked the personnel with specialized experience in pulling off such a complex, deepwater explosive attack. They may have helped in the operation, but that job had the CIA's fingerprints all over it, with help from the Navy's special forces. The fact that the Biden administration expected the American public to blithely buy the "Russia did it" story was simply insulting.

Of course, none of this means that we're any closer to any sort of official confirmation from the White House. Also, the CIA never admits to anything, even if they get caught with their hand in the cookie jar. It's no wonder that Poland would like everyone involved to simply "keep quiet." There is no good explanation and continuing to issue denials isn't going to change the situation.