A former senior Ukrainian official was the coordinator of the explosions that blew up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines, the Washington Post reported, citing Ukrainian officials and European sources, and in conjunction with the German periodical Der Spiegel. .
Roman Chervinsky, a former commander of one of the Ukrainian special forces units, was the “coordinator of the Nord Stream operation” and managed a six-person team that carried out the devastating multibillion-dollar attack on infrastructure in September 2022, according to the report.
The outlet said Chervinsky and a group of six people rented a boat under false identities and used deep-sea diving equipment to place explosive charges on gas pipelines.
Chervinsky did not act alone and did not plan the operation, but was following the orders of senior officers who ultimately answered to Ukraine’s top military officer, Valery Zaluzhny, the Post said, citing the person familiar with his role.
NORD STREAM EXPLOSION, LEAK AN ‘ACT OF SABOTAGE,’ WHITE HOUSE ADVISER KIRBY SAYS
Natural gas comes from a leak in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea, Sept. 27, 2022. (Swedish Coast Guard via Getty Images/File)
Chervinsky, in a written statement to the Washington Post, denied his involvement in the Nord Streams sabotage.
“All speculations about my involvement in the Nord Stream attack are spread by Russian propaganda without any basis,” Chervinsky said.
Natural gas comes from a leak in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea, Sept. 28, 2022. (Swedish Coast Guard via AP/File)
Since the explosion on September 26, 2022, rumors have swirled about who was responsible for the destruction of the Nord Streams — with people quick to point to Washington, Kyiv or Moscow.
RUSSIA URGES UN TO INVESTIGATE NORD STREAM EXPLOSION
In February, Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, said that US Navy divers planted bombs that Nord Stream 2 was destroyed pipeline under the direct orders of President Joe Biden.
Seymour Hersh reports that the Nord Stream pipeline exploded in a covert operation authorized by President Joe Biden. (Craig F. Walker/The Denver Post via Getty Images/File)
National Security Council (NSC) spokesman John Kirby repeatedly denied that the United States was involved in the explosions following Hersh’s reporting.
“It’s a completely false story. There’s no truth to it, Shannon,” Kirby told host Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday” in February. “Not a shred of it. It is not true. The United States, and no proxy of the United States, had anything to do with that, nothing.”
The White House, the CIA and the NSC all said Hersh’s report was “absolutely false and complete fiction.”
Gas was seen leaking into the Baltic Sea after Nord Stream was suspected of being sabotaged. (Getty Images/File)
Following the attack, Russia called on the United Nations to investigate the sabotage.
In a joint letter to UN council members, Denmark, Sweden and Germany reiterated that acts of sabotage against the pipelines are “unacceptable, endanger international security and provide a reason for with our deep concern.”
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Concerns about indirect effects on greenhouse gas emissions are “large and worrisome,” the letter said.
The National Security Council did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
