The idea to blow up the gas pipeline so important to Russia is said to have originated when a group of high-ranking Ukrainian military officers and businessmen celebrated Ukraine's initial successes in the war in May 2022.
About four months later, six people allegedly set out on the Baltic Sea with the sailing vessel "Andromeda" to place explosive charges on the seabed.
I always laugh when I read media speculations about some big operation involving security services, submarines, drones, and satellites, says a Ukrainian officer to the Wall Street Journal.
Said to be too late
The American newspaper has spoken to several people who are all anonymous in the article. They claim to have been involved in the sabotage in late September 2022, or in the planning of it. Their stories match known parts of the police investigation taking place in Germany.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyj initially gave the green light for the deed, but then changed his mind when the plans were revealed. They are said to have been intercepted by the Dutch intelligence service, which in turn alerted the American CIA.
The Americans allegedly pressured Zelenskyj to back down. The Ukrainian president is said to have given then-army chief Valerij Zaluzjnyj – who is claimed to have had a leading role – orders to stop the plan. But Zaluzjnyj claimed it was too late.
Ukraine's government, intelligence service, and the individuals involved deny the allegations.
That Ukraine would be involved in the Nord Stream explosions is absolute nonsense, says Mychajlo Podoljak, an adviser to President Zelenskyj, to AFP on Thursday.
Traces on the boat
German investigators later identified "Andromeda" as the perpetrators' vessel. On board, they found explosives, fingerprints, and DNA.
On Wednesday, German authorities announced that three Ukrainian citizens are formally suspected of involvement in the sabotage.
Swedish and Danish investigations were dropped in February this year, citing a lack of jurisdiction.
In the days leading up to the explosions at the Nord Stream pipelines, on the seabed off the Danish island of Bornholm, "Andromeda" made stops at several harbors around the Baltic Sea and made an unplanned visit to the Swedish island of Sandhamn due to bad weather.
The Ukrainians who spoke to WSJ say that one of the divers dropped an explosive charge in the sea during the stop in Sweden, but do not elaborate further in the article.
In late September 2022, four leaks were discovered on the gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2, which run from Russia to Germany along the Baltic Sea floor.
Two of the leaks were in the Swedish economic zone, northeast of Bornholm, and two in the Danish economic zone, southeast of Bornholm. A country's economic zone is not the same as its territorial waters.
Seismic measurements showed that explosions had occurred in the sea before the leaks were discovered, and about two months later, the Swedish prosecutor confirmed that the pipelines had been subjected to deliberate explosions.
