The operation was approved by Zelensky. The Wall Street Journal accused Zaluzhny of sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines

The American publication The Wall Street Journal has accused former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi of sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines. Initially, the operation was approved by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

This is asserted in an article by The Wall Street Journal.

“Private businessmen financed the operation, which was overseen by a top general. President Zelensky approved the plan and then unsuccessfully attempted to cancel it,” the article states.

Citing sources, the article claims that the sabotage was prepared by a group of Ukrainian officers and businessmen in May 2022.

Zelensky initially approved the plan, but the CIA, upon learning of Kyiv’s intentions, “requested” that the operation be stopped. Following this, the president gave Zaluzhnyi the corresponding order. However, according to the sources, Zaluzhnyi did not comply with the order and continued with the preparations.

The Commander-in-Chief reportedly changed the original plan of the operation and involved a Special Forces officer with experience in “risky covert missions”—Colonel Roman Chervinsky of the Special Operations Forces (SOF), about whom Western media have also written earlier, though Chervinsky has denied his involvement.

Chervinsky allegedly decided to use a sailing yacht and a team of six people—both military and civilians with maritime experience—in the operation.

The plan involved several divers on the yacht, including a woman, to make it look like a simple boating trip. Ukrainian entrepreneurs were also expected to participate in financing the operation.

It is worth noting that yesterday, several major German media outlets reported that an arrest warrant had been issued in Germany in connection with the pipeline explosions against a Ukrainian citizen. Two others, including a woman, are also suspected. These individuals have been identified as Kyiv-based divers.

The Wall Street Journal claims to have “spoken with four high-ranking Ukrainian defense and security officials who either participated in the conspiracy or were directly aware of it.”

However, Zaluzhnyi told The Wall Street Journal that he supposedly knows nothing about such operations and that the allegations of his involvement in the sabotage are “a simple provocation.” He added that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are not authorized to conduct foreign missions.