The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky initially approved a plan to sabotage the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines before attempting to call off the operation under US pressure. However, it was too late to stop the attack. The energy infrastructure, built to deliver Russian gas to Germany and other parts of Europe, was damaged by explosions under the Baltic Sea in September 2022.
According to the WSJ’s sources, the idea of blowing up Nord Stream was conceived by a handful of senior Ukrainian military officers and businessmen during a gathering in May 2022, a few months after the conflict between Moscow and Kiev began. The plotters believed that the attack would reduce Russia’s energy revenues and make the EU less dependent on Moscow.
The operation involved a small rented yacht called Andromeda with a six-member crew, including trained civilian divers, costing approximately $300,000. Initially, Zelensky approved the attack on the pipelines, but later, when the CIA learned of the plan and asked him to call it off, he ordered the operation to be halted. However, then-Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny disregarded the demand and proceeded with the attack, sources allege.
When approached for comment by the WSJ, Zaluzhny denied any involvement in the destruction of Nord Stream, calling the claims a “mere provocation.” The outlet stated that their sources’ account is partially corroborated by the findings of the German police investigation into the Nord Stream explosions. This probe could potentially strain relations between Kiev and Berlin, which has been Ukraine’s most significant backer in the EU amid its conflict with Russia.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh previously reported that explosives were planted on the Nord Stream pipelines by US Navy divers under the cover of a NATO exercise, detonated on orders from US President Joe Biden. Top officials in Moscow, including President Vladimir Putin, have also accused Washington of being responsible for the sabotage, arguing that it stood to gain the most from disrupting Russian gas supplies to the EU.