Photo: Handout / Getty Images News / Getty Images
A shocking new report from the Wall Street Journal claims that Ukraine was responsible for sabotaging the Nord Stream pipeline in September 2022.
“I always laugh when I read media speculation about some huge operation involving secret services, submarines, drones, and satellites,” an officer involved in the plot told the news outlet. “The whole thing was born out of a night of heavy boozing and the iron determination of a handful of people who had the guts to risk their lives for their country.”
The plot was hatched in May 2022 and had the initial approval of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A group of military officials reviewed an older draft plan, created by Ukrainian intelligence when Russia annexed Crimea, to destroy the oil pipelines under the Baltic Sea but determined it was too costly.
However, after some discussion, they devised a cheaper plan involving just a small handful of people. The $300,000 plan involved using a small sailing boat to transport a six-person crew to the middle of the Baltic Sea, where divers would plant explosives on the undersea pipes. The dive team included a husband and wife to help sell the ruse that they were a group of friends going on a diving excursion.
While Zelenskyy signed off on the plan, he changed his mind after learning that the CIA got wind of the plot from sources within the Dutch intelligence agency MIVD. However, General Valery Zaluzhny, who was then the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, told the team to proceed with the attack.
The attack worked, and three of the four Nord Stream pipelines were damaged by the blast.
Ukraine continues to deny it was responsible for the attack, placing the blame on Russia.