Germany and the United States have made numerous reports about the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline in September 2022, claiming that it was destroyed by Ukrainians.
A recent headline-grabbing article in the Wall Street Journal would have us believe that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky originally approved the plot to blow up the pipeline, and that it was carried out by former Ukrainian military commander Valery Zarzhiny.
The still-unexplained explosion took three of the four Nord Stream pipelines carrying natural gas from Russia to Europe out of commission. Germany, Sweden and Denmark each launched investigations into the vandalism, but Denmark and Germany closed theirs in February 2024 without publicly identifying responsibility for the damage.
According to the WSJ article, the plan was hatched by a motley group of Ukrainian military officers and civilians, most of whom were drunk, but Zelenskiy tried to call off the attack after receiving warnings from the U.S. But Zarzhiny said there was no way to stop the operation and went ahead with it.
Andromeda Yacht
The news also includes talk that German prosecutors are planning to prosecute one of the crew members, a Ukrainian diving instructor who has not been named, but who is said to have been living in Poland with his family, but who has since disappeared. Germany is accusing the Poles of sabotaging the case.
But nearly the entire WSJ article is hard to believe, including claims that German investigators found DNA, fingerprints and traces of explosives when they searched the German-registered yacht Andromeda.
There's no explanation as to who the DNA and fingerprints relate to, nor is there any explanation for the type of explosive “traces” that were allegedly found. The WSJ says only that it was found as part of a two-year police investigation. For such a long time, the Andromeda was undoubtedly loaned to many other people. Is there any difference between the Ukrainian fingerprints and the others?
One of the most intriguing claims is that the Andromeda docked in Sandhamn, a small port city about 30 miles east of Stockholm, Sweden, after encountering bad weather. The Journal quoted an anonymous witness as saying the Andromeda was flying a “small Ukrainian flag.”
Sandhamn port in Sweden
Ships calling at the port are expected to fly the flag of their home country. The Ensign, the Andromeda, was required to fly the German flag if the ship was owned by German interests and not registered in another country (as was sometimes the case).
The WSJ reports that the Andromeda was rented by a Ukrainian, so the Ukrainian flag will not be visible.
But this interesting fact about the flag says something more: the flag is unlikely to be flown during a covert operation to destroy a pipeline costing billions of dollars.
If there had been no Ukrainian operation to blow up the pipeline, the Andromeda could have flown the Ukrainian flag and a flag indicating the ship's nationality, but if it was a covert operation there would have been no point in flying such a flag.
The story about bad weather also appears to be a myth: photos of the exploded pipeline show clear skies.
The real question is, what is the source of the WSJ article, and why would a reputable newspaper publish an article that cannot be verified by authoritative sources?
Valery Zarzhiny and Colonel-General Oleksandr Shirsky (left) during the Battle of Kiev in March 2022.
The WSJ article has undermined the credibility of Zelenskyy and Zarzhiny. Was the article provided to the WSJ in preparation for a US operation to replace Zelenskyy and Zarzhiny? Zarzhiny is now Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, but was Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the time of the pipeline incident.
More importantly, he has been touted as a possible successor to Zelensky. But Zaluzhnyi is as hardline on Russia policy as Zelenskyi and may not be the Western preferred candidate to succeed Ukraine's leader. So the WSJ may have been used to defeat both Zelenskyi and Zaluzhnyi.
The article states that German authorities do not have any evidence against Zarzigny that could be presented in court, so it is worth noting that Zarzigny (who denies any involvement in Nord Stream sabotage) remains in his position and has not been indicted by a German court.
President Zelenskyy has also denied any involvement in the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline.
Other reporters, notably veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, have argued that Nord Stream was sabotaged by a US operation, possibly with the cooperation of others. Hersh has detailed his thoughts on how the sabotage effort unfolded.
He correctly points out that senior U.S. officials, including President Joe Biden and former Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, have openly pushed for the pipeline's destruction. Declaring that the U.S. wanted the pipeline destroyed put the U.S. in an awkward position, regardless of who was tasked with carrying it out.
The same goes for the German government, which supports the US denial of any involvement in the pipeline and seeks to shift the blame onto Ukraine. While previous reports did not allege any involvement by Zelensky or Zaluzhny, the latest “leak” is aimed directly at them. Germany is aligned with Washington.
All this is unfolding as the Ukrainian war is likely in its final stages, with Ukraine's Operation Kursk openly aimed at laying the groundwork for peace talks with Russia.
It is clear that Zelensky, who is allied with the nationalist right wing of the military, is the wrong person to negotiate with in these situations and would likely be unacceptable to the Russian side. If he were to leave soon, we can expect to see a softer replacement at the negotiating table.
ZNPP cooling towers hit by drone attack
Meanwhile, Zelensky has bigger problems with Washington than just his inflexible attitude: The Washington Post reported on August 17 that the Kursk attack has derailed highly sensitive secret negotiations in Qatar aimed at a partial ceasefire focused on Ukrainian and Russian energy infrastructure, which would pave the way for peace talks.
Ukrainians, led by President Zelensky and General Oleksandr Shirsky, destroyed the agreement in four ways:
(1) The invasion of Kursk prompted Russia to further punish Ukraine.
(2) Ukraine attempted to mobilize the Kursk military to attack the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, but failed to achieve its objective.
(3) the use of long-range weapons over strong U.S. opposition;
(4) A drone attack at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, destroyed one of its two cooling towers.
Additionally, there are credible reports that Ukraine is planning a major military operation against the ZNPP and is preparing to launch it soon. Other so far unconfirmed reports widely seen on Telegram channels claim that Ukraine is preparing a “dirty bomb” to be used on Russian territory.
If all of the above reports are true (and some of them are), Zelenskyy has become a villain not only to Russia but also to the United States.
Stephen Brien is a senior correspondent for Asia Times and previously served as staff director for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on the Near East and as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy.
This article originally appeared on his Substack, Weapons and Strategy, and is republished with permission.
