The Wall Street Journal has published an investigation into the bombing of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in September 2022. The newspaper accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and former Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyy of organising the operation, reports Komersant ukrainskyi
According to four sources, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy verbally approved the sabotage plan within days of its presentation. The president entrusted the implementation of the plan to the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny. All agreements were reached verbally, without documentary evidence.
However, the following month, the Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD learned of these plans and informed the CIA. The US intelligence services, in turn, informed Germany. The CIA warned Zelenskyy’s office to stop the operation, after which the Ukrainian president ordered Zaluzhnyy to stop it.
According to Ukrainian officers and officials, General Zaluzhnyi ignored the president’s order. Instead, he modified the original plan and brought in some of Ukraine’s top special forces officers with experience in high-risk covert operations against Russia to coordinate the attack. Among them was former intelligence officer Roman Chervinsky, who is currently on trial in the case of the shelling of the Kanatove airfield.
Commenting on the investigation, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, Valeriy Zaluzhny, told reporters that he was unaware of any such operation and called any suggestions of his involvement “a simple provocation”. A senior official in Ukraine’s main intelligence service also denied any involvement in the sabotage, stressing that President Zelenskyy did not approve of such actions in third countries and did not give the relevant orders.
The day before, Germany issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian who was allegedly the executor of the special operation.
What happened to Nord Stream?
In the summer of 2022, the US CIA warned the German government of possible attacks on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.
on 26 September 2022, at 20:03 and 19:04 local time, seismological stations recorded underwater explosions. One of them occurred in the Danish maritime economic zone and the other in the Swedish maritime economic zone. The magnitude of one of the explosions was 2.3.
At 13:52 and 20:41, the maritime administration received the first reports of gas leaks. A total of 4 leaks were recorded: two on each of the pipelines.
It is known that the damaged gas pipelines are located at a depth of 70-90 metres. At the time of the explosions, they were not in operation and were filled with process gas. The Nord Stream pipeline operator said the damage was unprecedented.
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Nord Stream explosions: expert opinions
A researcher at the Royal Danish Defence College , A. Nielsen, suggested that the pipeline was damaged by remote-controlled mines planted by divers.
American submarine expert H. Sutton believes that the explosions were caused by a Russian underwater unmanned vehicle.
From the very beginning, experts and government circles in Germany lobbied for a targeted attack. The assumption was that Russia was involved.
Attack on Nord Stream: what does Ukraine have to do with it?
In March 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on camera that Ukraine was not involved in the gas pipeline bombing. According to him, such information could have been spread by provocateurs to slow down logistical assistance to Ukraine from its allies.
In November of the same year, The Washington Post published an article stating that the gas pipeline bombing was coordinated by Ukrainian officer Roman Chervinsky, who is accused in Ukraine of involvement in the shelling of the Kanatove airfield and abuse of power.