For two years, theories swirled about the sabotage that destroyed the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russia's gas to Europe, but as it turns out, the plot didn't involve Russian President Vladimir Putin, the CIA, or any large scheme.
Investigators now indicate that the plan to stop the pipeline was fueled by alcohol and carried out by a six-person crew in a small rented yacht, The Wall Street Journal reported.
"I always laugh when I read media speculation about some huge operation involving secret services, submarines, drones, and satellites," one of the officers involved in the scheme said. "The whole thing was born out of a night of heavy boozing and the iron determination of a handful of people who had the guts to risk their lives for their country."
The plan was reportedly hatched in May 2022, when senior Ukrainian military officials and businessmen were cheering Ukraine's success in stopping the Russian invasion, which had started a few months earlier, according to reports.
The talk turned to the pipeline, which was fueling Russia's war effort through the sales of natural gas to Europe.
Four months later, on Sept. 26, Scandinavian seismologists picked up signals that there had been either a volcanic eruption or an underwater earthquake near Bornholm, a Danish island.
Instead, it turned out that there had been three explosions, resulting in the release of natural gas that turned out to equal Denmark's annual CO2 emissions.
But rather than a large, complicated scheme, the operation cost just $300,000 and was carried out by six people, including military and civilian divers, say people close to the plan, with their story being backed up by a German investigation.
One of the divers was a woman, brought along so the yacht would appear to be out in the seas on a pleasure cruise, the Journal's sources said.
Four senior Ukrainian defense and security officials, who had either participated in the plot or had direct knowledge of it, told The Wall Street Journal that the Nord Stream pipelines were considered a legitimate wartime target.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak on Thursday denied his country was involved in the sabotage and blamed Russia.
One officer who participated, along with three people familiar with the plan, said Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved the plan initially, but ordered that it be stopped after the CIA learned of the plot and asked him to stop it.
Still, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhniy, commander in chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, was allegedly one of the plan's leaders, and pushed on to continue the sabotage plans, claimed those close to the plot.
Zaluzhniy, now Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom, insisted in a text exchange with the Journal that it is a "mere provocation" to say he was involved and claimed he knew nothing about the scheme.
He also added that Ukraine's armed forces had not been authorized to conduct overseas missions, so he would not have been involved.
Their account was corroborated by a German police investigation, which obtained evidence including mobile and satellite phone communications and emails, along with DNA samples and fingerprints from the alleged sabotage team.
The investigation further indicates that Ukraine's top special operations officers were allegedly involved in the plan, allegedly including Roman Chervinsky, who had served in Ukraine's SBU, the country's main security and intelligence service.
He is currently on trial in Ukraine for unrelated charges. He was released on bail in July, but would not comment on the pipeline sabotage.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials who were familiar with the plot for the attack say it is not possible to put any of the commanding officers involved on trial, as no evidence exists other than conversations between the officials who wanted to blow up the pipelines.
"None of them will testify, lest they incriminate themselves," one official said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.