Russia speaks out about Ukrainian colonel suspected of coordinating Nord Stream explosion

Air bubbles on the surface of the Baltic Sea on September 27, 2022 due to a leak in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline (Photo: Getty).

"Ukraine's traces in this sabotage are increasingly appearing in reports, investigations and media reports," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on November 13, referring to information that a Ukrainian colonel is suspected of coordinating the explosion of Russia's Nord Stream gas pipeline.

"The news that Ukrainian President Zelensky seems to have been unaware of such actions by his subordinates in the security services. This is a very alarming signal not only for us but also for Western countries," Mr. Peskov commented.

"If the Kiev government can no longer control the situation in the country, this is alarming and needs attention," he added.

The above comments were made after the Washington Post (USA) and Der Spiegel (Germany) cited informed sources saying that Roman Chervinsky, a colonel in Ukraine's Special Operations Forces, was the "coordinator" of the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline.

According to the Washington Post , Mr. Chervinsky was in charge of logistics and supervised the six-person team. The group used fake identities to rent a sailboat and used scuba gear to place explosives on the pipeline.

According to the same source, Mr. Chervinsky is said to have received orders from a number of senior leaders of Ukraine and eventually reported to Chief of the General Staff Valery Zaluzhnyi. Meanwhile, President Zelensky seemed unaware of the incident.

For his part, through his lawyer, Mr. Chervinsky denied any involvement in the pipeline sabotage.

“All the speculation about my involvement in the Nord Stream attack is being spread by Russia without any basis,” Mr. Chervinsky said in a written statement to the Washington Post and Der Spiegel.

Mr Chervinsky is on trial in Kiev on charges of abuse of power in a campaign to recruit defecting Russian pilots. He has denied the charges and called the prosecution " politically motivated".

In September 2022, a series of explosions severely damaged both Nord Stream gas pipelines built to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany and the rest of the European Union (EU).

Investigators found traces of explosives at the scene and suspect sabotage of the pipeline. Russia and the West continue to blame each other for the attack, with Ukrainian President Zelensky repeatedly denying Kiev's involvement.

In late March, Danish authorities said they had discovered a strange, 10cm-diameter tube-shaped object near the site of an explosion at the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

At that time, Russian President Vladimir Putin also announced that a search ship of Russian state-owned energy corporation Gazprom had discovered an object designed like an antenna located about 30km from the area where the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions occurred.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/nga-len-tieng-vu-dai-ta-ukraine-bi-nghi-dieu-phoi-vu-no-nord-stream-20231113185644489.htm