The Russian invasion|The Nord Stream sabotage

Ukraine: Nothing to do with this - Russia to blame

Ukraine denies any involvement in the Nord Stream sabotage after two separate media publications in the past few days singled out Ukrainian groups as responsible. In a written statement to Reuters, President Zelensky's advisor Mychajlo Podoljak says that the country "has nothing to do" with the explosions on the gas pipelines.

"Such an act can only be carried out with extensive technical and financial resources - and who had all this at the time of the bombing? Only Russia," writes Podoljak.

Yesterday, several German media, together with the Swedish Expressen, revealed that a 44-year-old Ukrainian diver is wanted for blowing up the Nord Stream. At the same time, several sources told the American newspaper Wall Street Journal that a Ukrainian group planned and carried out the sabotage with the knowledge of President Zelensky.

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Sources: The sabotage of Nord Stream was decided on the spur of the moment

The sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines was decided by Ukrainian businessmen and the military during a meeting "fueled by alcohol and patriotic fervor". This is reported by the Wall Street Journal, which claims to be able to tell the real story behind the sabotage for the first time.

The meeting was held in May 2022.

- I always laugh when I read media speculation about some big operation involving intelligence services, submarines, drones and satellites, says an officer who was involved in the plan, and continues:

- The whole thing was born one night of heavy drinking.

Briefly, the development must then have been as follows, according to the WSJ's various informants: A general was appointed as the group's leader and he reported directly to Ukraine's former commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny. President Zelenskyy reportedly approved the plan just days later. Everything was done verbally to avoid leaving a trace.

A few weeks later, the Dutch intelligence service still sniffed out the plan. The US CIA was alerted, whereupon the US notified Germany and demanded that Zelenskyi blow off the plan. But when Zelenskyy passed the message on to his ÖB, he is said to have ignored the order - and Nord Stream exploded in September 2022.

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The crew is said to have dropped an explosive charge in Blekinge

The crew of the boat Andromeda, which is believed to have been used in the sabotage of the Nord Stream, dropped an explosive charge in the water outside Sandhamn in Blekinge less than two weeks before the explosion. This is according to two sources with access to the Wall Street Journal.

It has previously been known that the boat was at Sandhamn just before the explosion, but the details are new.

According to the information, the explosive object sank to the bottom of the sea. At the same time, the crew is said to have considered blowing off the entire project due to bad weather, but the storm is said to have subsided.

Andromeda is said to have left German Rostock on September 7 and then sailed via Danish Ärtholmarna, Sandhamn and Polish Kolobrzeg before returning to Germany. Three days later Nord Stream was blown up. According to the WSJ's informant, a Ukrainian group was behind the incident.