Ukrainian businessmen, military involved in Nord Stream sabotage despite Zelenskyy opposition – WSJ

The American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, citing informed sources, writes that the undermining of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022 was arranged by Ukrainian businessmen and the military. According to journalists, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially allegedly approved the plan, but later, after the intervention of the CIA, ordered the operation to be stopped.

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The article notes that in May 2022, several influential Ukrainian military and businessmen gathered at a meeting where a proposal was made to destroy the Nord Stream. It was agreed that businessmen would finance this project and help in its implementation, since the army did not have enough resources.

According to the participants of the operation, with whom the journalists talked, $300,000 was needed for its implementation. To perform the task, a small yacht Andromeda was rented, on board of which there were six people, including trained civilian divers. Among them was a woman who helped create the impression that the group went on a regular sightseeing cruise.

"I always laugh when I read speculations in the media about some huge operation involving special services, submarines, drones and satellites. All this was born after a night of heavy drinking and the iron determination of a handful of people who had the courage to risk their lives for their country," said a Ukrainian officer who participated in the operation.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Zelenskyy initially verbally approved the plan, but when the CIA learned of it and requested its cancellation, he ordered the operation to be halted.

However, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who, according to some sources, was in charge of the operation, decided to go ahead with its implementation.

To coordinate the attack, he enlisted Ukraine's best special operations officers, including Colonel Roman Chervinskyi, who previously served in the SBU and had experience in conducting risky covert missions against Russia, the report says.

According to the newspaper, Chervinskyi and his group initially considered a more complex plan to blow up the pipeline, but abandoned it due to the high cost and complexity. In the end, they decided to use a small sailboat and a crew of six.

The skipper was an experienced military officer on short leave, and the rest of the crew were experienced deep-sea divers. The commander was not informed about this mission.

With only diving equipment, navigation, sonar and seabed maps, the crew set off. Four divers worked in pairs in the darkness of the icy water, planting the powerful HMX explosives linked to timers, according to people familiar with the German investigation.

General Zaluzhnyi, who is currently Ukraine's ambassador to Britain, said in a text message that he knew nothing about such an operation, and that any suggestion to the contrary was a "simple provocation." He added that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are not authorized to conduct foreign missions, so he did not participate in them.

In September 2022, explosions occurred on the route of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, after which three of the four threads of the pipeline became unusable.

The New York Times, citing American intelligence sources, reported that sabotage of gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea was allegedly carried out by pro-Ukrainian groups. The US National Security Council has not confirmed this data.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called this version ridiculous.