JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukrainian military officer coordinated Nord Stream pipeline attack” – Washington Post

“Roman Chervinsky, a colonel in Ukraine’s special operations forces, was integral to the brazen sabotage operation, say people familiar with planning.”

“… Roman Chervinsky, a decorated 48-year-old colonel who served in Ukraine’s special operations forces, [reportedly] was the ‘coordinator’ of … Nord Stream [sabotage] operation … logistics and support for a six-person team that rented a sailboat under false identities and used deep-sea diving equipment to place explosive charges on the gas pipelines. On Sept. 26, 2022, three explosions caused massive leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines … from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. … [O]nly one of … four gas links in the network [remained] intact as winter approached. Chervinsky [reportedly] did not act alone … [or] plan the operation …. [He reportedly] … took orders from more senior Ukrainian officials, who ultimately reported to Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s highest-ranking military officer … [T]he bombing … has strained diplomatic relations … and drawn objections from U.S. officials. … [Meanwhile] Chervinsky is … in a Kyiv jail [after being arrested in April] on charges … stemming from a plot to lure a Russian pilot to defect to Ukraine in July 2022. Authorities allege … Chervinsky … acted without permission and that the operation gave away the coordinates of a Ukrainian airfield, prompting a Russian rocket attack that killed a soldier and injured 17 ….”

Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD reportedly obtained information in June 2022 of possible Ukrainian plans against Nord Stream. The CIA reportedly conveyed to Ukraine, through an intermediary to Zaluzhny, that the United States opposed such an action.

Reportedly U.S. officials thought the plans were called off, only for the attack to end up being carried out three months later from a different departure point.  The actual attack reportedly shared some aspects of the original plan, such as the size of the bombing team, fake indentities, diving equipment and a rented boat.

Click here for: “Ukrainian military officer coordinated Nord Stream pipeline attack; Roman Chervinsky, a colonel in Ukraine’s special operations forces, was integral to the brazen sabotage operation, say people familiar with planning” – Washington Post/ Shane Harris, Isabelle Khurshudyan