The Wall Street Journal claims that the sabotage of Nord Stream was approved at the highest Ukrainian level, which kyiv denies

According to the American newspaper, Ukrainian President Zelensky approved the sabotage, before canceling it. But his order was apparently ignored.

Ukraine did indeed plan the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in September 2022 in the Baltic Sea. This is in any case what the German justice system and the revelations of several major international media outlets are claiming. The latest, THE Wall Street Journalwho claims on Thursday, August 15, that the act was even validated at the highest level in kyiv. Including, initially, by President Volodymyr Zelensky himself.

According to the American newspaper, which relies in particular on Ukrainian military sources, the bombing was carried out under the supervision of the then commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Valery Zaluzhny. And this despite a change of heart by Volodymyr Zelensky, who had called for the project to be stopped.

The idea of ​​sabotage emerged in May 2022, three months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, during a meeting of Ukrainian officers, senior military officers and business leaders. According to the WSJa total of six people were directly involved in this operation at a cost of approximately $300,000, all financed by private money. “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had initially approved the plan, according to an officer involved in it and three who had knowledge of it.writes the daily. But then, when the CIA got wind of it and asked to stop it, he ordered it to be stopped.”

Except that Valery Zaluzhny, then commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, ignored this order and changed the initial plan with his team. The person concerned, who was appointed in February as Ukraine’s ambassador to London, said in a written exchange sent to WSJ that he had no knowledge of such an operation, and that he described it as “provocation” any assertion to the contrary.

After the sabotage of the Russian gas pipeline, Volodymyr Zelensky demanded explanations from Valery Zaluzhny, according to the WSJciting three people familiar with the exchange. The military official told him it was too late, saying it was no longer possible to communicate with the sabotage team because any contact could have jeopardized the operation. “It’s like a torpedo, once you throw it at the enemy you can’t get it back, it just keeps going until it goes boom,” describes a high-ranking officer, informed of this conversation, quoted by the WSJ.

The Ukrainian presidency denounced its accusation by the American media on Thursday. “Ukraine’s involvement in the Nord Stream explosions is absolute nonsense. These actions had no practical benefit for” kyiv, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak told AFP.

In a statement to Reuters, the same Mykhailo Podoliak pointed to Russia’s responsibility. “Such an act can only be carried out with extensive technical and financial resources. And who had all this at the time of the explosion? Only Russia.”

The press reports come as Germany’s judicial investigation into the sabotage appears to be shifting its focus to Ukraine. The Polish prosecutor’s office confirmed on Wednesday, August 14, that it had received an arrest warrant issued by Berlin targeting a Ukrainian. The man, a professional diver named Volodymyr Z., was living in Poland at the time. However, he had since left the country and returned to Ukraine.