German investigators have alleged that former Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny commissioned the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, according to reports by Die Welt. The newspaper cited an investigator familiar with the case, saying they believe they have identified the perpetrators. The attack on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which run under the Baltic Sea and were built to carry Russian natural gas directly to Germany, has raised significant political tensions and questions about the motives and actors behind the sabotage.
Zaluzhny, who was dismissed from his post in February 2024 and now serves as Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, is being implicated in the attack. Previous Western media reports had already claimed that authorities knew the identities of the entire crew aboard the yacht Andromeda, which is suspected of being involved in the sabotage. The German newspaper noted that these individuals were acting on orders from Zaluzhny.
Since his dismissal, there have been media reports speculating that Zaluzhny could use his political clout to become one of Zelensky’s most dangerous rivals in a potential election. In August, media reports suggested that he is already laying the groundwork for a presidential bid, though his team has denied these claims. The allegations have intensified the political tensions between Ukraine and its Western allies, with both sides accused of being behind the sabotage.
Earlier reporting from Der Spiegel in September 2024 also claimed that Zaluzhny greenlit the attack, while a later article by Der Spiegel suggested that the general was so impressed by the operation that he wanted to expand it to target Russia’s TurkStream pipeline in the Black Sea, although the effort was thwarted. Zaluzhny has denied any role in the sabotage.
According to Die Welt, however, some experts remain skeptical of the alleged Ukrainian role, stating that the saboteurs were behaving too conspicuously. An official familiar with the investigation said, as cited by the paper, that all the claims were “all nonsense.” He also accused those who suspect Russia or the US of being behind the attack of believing in conspiracy theories.
In contrast, a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Nikolay Patrushev, claimed the sabotage could not have been executed without Western commandos, singling out Britain as the likely culprit and arguing that the Ukrainians lack the necessary expertise. Putin previously suggested that US intelligence agencies under President Joe Biden orchestrated the sabotage. These conflicting narratives have added to the complexity of the investigation and the political tensions surrounding the incident.