Putin Denies Ukrainian Involvement in Nord Stream Blasts

Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected 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 US. Putin insisted that the US had a motive to stage the explosion, saying it wanted to halt supplies of cheap Russian natural gas to Germany and to provide it with more expensive liquefied natural gas. Investigations by European nations, including Denmark, through whose waters the pipeline travels, and Germany have yet to yield conclusive results.