The September 2022 "shoestring operation" to blow up the Nord Stream pipeline network was initially a plot by a handful of senior Ukrainian military officers, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing the officers involved in the plot.
Volodymyr Zelensky initially approved the plan within a few days, and all orders regarding the operation were given verbally, so as not to leave any evidence, according to the sources.
Zelensky ordered a halt after the CIA learned of "one of the most audacious acts of sabotage in modern history" and reportedly asked the then-Ukrainian president to pull the plug.
Valery Zaluzhny, who served as Ukraine’s commander-in-chief at the time, ignored Zelensky’s order and his team modified the original plan to destroy the pipeline. However, Zaluzhny denied his involvement in the attack, saying that he wasn’t aware and that any suggestions to the contrary were "a mere provocation."
The WSJ report comes after German authorities issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian man suspected of being involved in the Nord Stream explosion and identified only as Volodymyr Z., a diving instructor.
The new findings could worsen relations between Ukraine and Germany, the second-largest Kiev’s supporter, according to the WSJ.
Moscow proceeds from the assumption that Western countries are either hiding something or simply covering up the perpetrators of these terrorist acts.