Ukraine's top general disobeyed Zelenskyy and blew up the Nord Stream pipeline without permission, report says

• Ukraine was behind the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline, The Wall Street Journal reported.
• The September 2022 explosion disrupted Russia's natural gas exports, hitting global energy markets.
• The WSJ said Volodymyr Zelenskyy tried to halt the plan, but that his top general did it anyway.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attempted to put the brakes on an audacious Ukrainian plot to blow up the Nord Stream pipeline, but his general pushed ahead anyway, according to a new report.

That explosion in the Baltic Sea back in September 2022 resulted in the destruction of a major Russian export route for natural gas, sending shockwaves through energy markets.

Who exactly blew up the pipeline was an enduring mystery. Danish and Swedish investigations closed inconclusively in February this year, and a couple of months later the UN admitted it had "no additional details" on who was behind the attack.

But The Wall Street Journal published the fullest story yet on Wednesday purporting to finally describe what happened.

It said a crew of six Ukrainian-backed divers chartered a 50-foot pleasure boat from Germany, sailed it to the Baltic Sea, and planted explosive charges on the pipeline.

The Journal cited four Ukrainian defense officials who either participated in the plot or were familiar with it, as well as linking many details to a German police investigation. It didn't say why the officials were not named.

Business Insider has not independently verified the report.

The idea to blow up the pipeline was the brainchild of a boozy night back a few months prior, when a group of Ukrainian businessmen and senior military officers were toasting their country's recent successes, the Journal reported.

The project was financed by the businessmen, on a shoestring budget of around $300,000, and received backing by then-army chief Valeriy Zaluzhniy, the report said.

The project initially got the go-ahead from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — but in June, the CIA received a tip-off about it, and sought to stop to it, the report said.

Zelenskyy called a halt, the report said — only for Zaluzhniy to press ahead with a modified version of the plan anyway.

Business Insider did not receive responses to its requests for comment sent to Defense Intelligence of Ukraine or Zelenskyy's office.

The Ukrainian Embassy in London, where Zaluzhniy is now Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, was not contactable for comment by email.

Ukraine has repeatedly denied being behind the attack. In a message to the Journal, Zaluzhniy denied any knowledge and said any accusation would be a "mere provocation." He also said that Ukraine's armed forces would not have had authorization for overseas missions.

Senior Ukrainian special operations officer Roman Chervinsky led the attack, The Journal reported. Chervinsky declined to comment to the paper.

Ukraine has a solid rationale for wanting to disrupt the pipeline. A joint project between Russia and Germany, the pipeline was seen by Ukraine and the US as something that would increase European dependence on Russia for energy — giving Russia immense leverage and vital income.

After Nord Stream's destruction, Russia's only other main export route for natural gas is via Ukraine itself.

Following the explosions almost two years ago, there was a flurry of finger-pointing. Western officials quickly suggested Russia could be behind the attack, which the Kremlin denied.

Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson and the investigative journalist Seymour Hersh each made thinly-sourced claims that President Joe Biden masterminded the attack.

Investigative reports pointing to Ukrainian responsibility have been emerging for several months, with many details matching the Journal report.

A joint investigation between The Washington Post and Der Spiegel also connected Chervinsky, and Ukraine, to the attack. New York Times reporting last year also said a Ukrainian group was behind the attack.

The Journal's latest report is the first to suggest Zelenskyy had knowledge of the attack.

The matter is likely to cause diplomatic friction between Ukraine and Germany, which was a joint stakeholder with Russia in the pipeline.

The cost to Germany of seeking alternative energy sources is reckoned to be $1 million per day.

Germany is also the second-biggest single country supporting Ukraine's war effort.

One senior German official familiar with the country's police investigation into the matter told The Journal: "Our critical infrastructure was blown up by a country that we support with massive weapons shipments and billions in cash."