The Nord Stream gas pipeline was blown up by a small Ukrainian sabotage team in an operation that was initially approved and then called off by Volodymyr Zelenskiy, but which went ahead as the US and other Western countries were aware, according to an article published in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on August 14.
The sources of the report include people who claimed to have personally participated in the plan, as well as officials and insiders from Ukraine, the United States, Germany, and other countries.
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The Nord Stream 1 and the not-yet operational Nord Stream 2 were major conduits in the Baltic Sea for Russian gas into Europe, particularly Germany. Their use was always controversial due to their role in making the EU reliant on Russian energy and became even more so since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022.
In September 2022, Nord Stream was damaged by explosions and rendered inactive, worsening an energy crisis in Europe.
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According to the WSJ, the sabotage operation involved a small sailing boat and a team of six people, consisting of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians with relevant expertise. The operation was directed by a serving army general, who reported to Ukraine's then commander in chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Zelenskiy approved the plan, but later backtracked after the CIA found out and asked Kyiv to call it off.
After the explosions, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden all opened investigations into the incident, but rejected Russia's participation. In February 2024, Sweden and Denmark announced the end of the investigations, but kept the results secret.
In June, Germany secretly issued an arrest warrant for a member of the blasting team. The man lived in Poland, but Polish authorities did not assist in the arrest, with prosecutors stating that the suspect had fled to Ukraine.
Seymour Hersh, a well-known American investigative journalist, revealed in February 2023 that the Nord Stream pipeline was secretly sabotaged by U.S. intelligence and military. In June 2022, the US military sneaked into the sea to plant bombs under the pretext of a NATO exercise, and the Norwegian Navy detonated the bombs three months later. The US government denied this.
Reporter: Xachary, Zhou Jing (intern)
Photo: CFP.cn
Editor: Will, Steven, James
