Nord Stream sabotage: Ukrainian plot years in the making
The echoes of the Nord Stream pipeline explosion are still resonating. The German weekly "Der Spiegel" reports that the operation was planned long before Russia invaded Ukraine. According to journalists, Volodymyr Zelensky was unaware that such an operation was being prepared. However, its implementation was to be approved by the president's subordinate - the then-commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
Thursday marks the second anniversary of the operation at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. On 26 September 2022, three out of the four pipelines of Nord Stream 1 and 2 were destroyed at a depth of around 80 metres. The operation was carried out despite Washington's pressure to abandon it.
According to "Spiegel", the operation was planned by former Ukrainian Security Service officer Roman Cherwinski. He was said to have developed the operation details and selected and trained the appropriate personnel to carry it out.
The preparations began several years before the Russian invasion in February 2022. The onset of the full-scale war only expedited the actions of the Ukrainian services.
"The saboteurs' apparent goal was to cause significant harm to the Russian war economy and permanently deprive Moscow of billions of pounds from gas sales to Europe. The group considered the pipelines a legitimate military target," writes the online edition of "Der Spiegel".
The weekly claims that the operation cost £220,000, which came from private funds.
Cherwinski consistently denies having anything to do with the operation and calls the attempts to link him to the sabotage at the bottom of the Baltic Sea "Russian propaganda without any basis".
Nord Stream pipeline explosion
For years, a large portion of Russian natural gas for Germany had been delivered directly through Nord Stream 1. Many Eastern European and Western countries repeatedly criticised the project and warned of the geopolitical consequences of bypassing Eastern Europe in the transit of raw materials.
During Russia's aggression against Ukraine, Moscow suspended deliveries even before the destruction of Nord Stream 1. Meanwhile, Nord Stream 2 ultimately was not activated due to the Russian invasion.
