Ukrainian Colonel Denies Responsibility for Nord Stream Gas Pipeline Attack
In a recent report by the Washington Post, a Ukrainian military officer named Roman Chervinsky was accused of playing a key role in the attack on Russia’s Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022. Chervinsky, a colonel in Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, was reportedly responsible for managing logistics and support for a six-person sabotage team that allegedly carried out the attack. However, he has vehemently denied these claims, dismissing them as “Russian propaganda.”
According to the Washington Post, the attack on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which were built to deliver Russian natural gas to Germany, occurred in September 2022, and involved underwater explosions off the Danish island of Bornholm. Two competing theories have emerged regarding who was responsible for this act of sabotage.
The Western media narrative suggests that a team of Ukrainian commandos used a rented yacht to transport explosives to the blast sites. The CIA and European intelligence agencies were reportedly made aware of the plot several months beforehand, allegedly keeping Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky out of the loop. Chervinsky, who is currently being detained in Kiev for acting “without permission” in another clandestine operation, supposedly acted on orders from more senior officials reporting to Ukraine’s top military commander, General Valery Zaluzhny.
Accusations of the CIA’s involvement in Ukrainian affairs have been ongoing since at least 2015, with the organization said to have spent “tens of millions” of dollars and maintaining a “significant presence” in Kiev. However, despite these claims, another Washington Post piece suggested that the US was not involved in the Nord Stream blast operation and that the CIA even advised the Ukrainians to abort the plan.
Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has made the claim that US President Joe Biden ordered the CIA to blow up the pipelines. Hersh alleged that CIA divers, working with the Norwegian Navy, planted remotely-triggered bombs on the lines last summer using a NATO exercise in the region as cover.
Hersh argued that by destroying the pipelines, Washington intended to sever Germany’s energy ties to Russia, thus preventing Berlin from lifting sanctions on Moscow in order to save its gas-dependent economy. This theory is supported by Putin’s statement that he “fully agrees” with Hersh’s conclusions, arguing that the US benefited from the attack due to its position as a competing gas supplier to Europe.
While these accusations and counter-accusations make for a compelling narrative, the truth behind the Nord Stream gas pipeline attack remains shrouded in mystery. As Ukrainian Colonel Roman Chervinsky continues to deny any involvement, the international community is left to wonder who was truly behind the destruction of these critical energy supply lines.
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