MOSCOW, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Russia's ambassador to

Washington said on Friday that he did not believe Ukraine would

have attacked the Nord Stream gas pipelines without the tacit

approval of the United States, and that Russia would identify

and punish those behind the attack.

A sharp pressure drop on the pipelines under the Baltic Sea

was registered on Sept. 26, 2022 and seismologists detected

explosions, triggering a wave of speculation about who sabotaged

the multibillion-dollar project that carried Russian gas to

Germany.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts, which

occurred off the Danish island of Bornholm and ruptured three

out of four lines of the system.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Ukraine's

top military commander approved the 2022 attack on the gas

pipelines despite a warning from the U.S. Central Intelligence

Agency to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy not to carry

out the attack.

"They seek to shift all responsibility to their Ukrainian

puppets," Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said in a statement

on Nord Stream. "We will seek to identify the real perpetrators

of the bombing and punish them."

Russia has repeatedly said that attack on Nord Stream was

carried out by the United States and Britain. Washington and

London have denied those accusations.

The New York Times, The Washington Post and the Wall Street

Journal have reported that Ukraine - which has repeatedly denied

involvement - was behind the attack.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak on Thursday

denied his country was involved, and pointed the finger at

Russia.

Antonov said that there was no way that Ukraine would attack

Nord Stream without "the wink" from Washington.

"In fact, we are talking about the implicit legitimisation

of terrorism, even when it comes to the territory of the

allies," Antonov said.

The blasts occurred in the economic zones of Sweden and

Denmark. Both countries said the explosions were deliberate, but

have yet to say in public who was responsible. Those countries

and Germany are investigating.