WSJ’s Nord Stream tall tale targets Zelensky, Zaluzhny

Germany and the US have put out numerous stories about the September 2022 destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline claiming that it was destroyed by the Ukrainians. 

The latest story, headlined in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), would have us believe that Ukrainian President Vladymyr Zelensky initially approved the plot to blow up the pipeline and that it was carried out by former Ukrainian armed forces chief Valerii Zaluzhny. 

The still unexplained explosion rendered three of Nord Stream’s four lines, which deliver gas from Russia to Europe, inoperable. Germany, Sweden, and Denmark initiated three separate investigations into the sabotage, but the latter two closed without publicly assigning responsibility for the damage in February 2024.

According to the WSJ story, after the planning was done by a motley crew of Ukrainian army officers and civilians, mostly soaked in alcohol, Zelensky tried to call off the attack when the US warned him against it. Zaluzhny, however, carried on, saying he had no way to call back the operation. 

The story also links to German prosecutors attempting to indict one crew member, a Ukrainian diving instructor, without revealing his last name. This crew member allegedly lived in Poland with his family but has disappeared. The Germans are accusing the Poles of obstruction in the case.

However, almost the entire WSJ story strains credulity. For example, there is a claim that German investigators checked the German-registered yacht, called the Andromeda, and they uncovered DNA, fingerprints and traces of explosives. 

Who is associated with the DNA and fingerprints is not explained, nor is the type of explosive “traces” claimed to have been found.  WSJ only says that this was discovered as part of a two-year police investigation. Over such a long period, the Andromeda was no doubt rented out to plenty of others.  Are there differences between Ukrainian fingerprints and others?

One of the most curious claims is that the Andromeda pulled into the small port town of Sandhamn, about 50 kilometers east of Stockholm, Sweden, apparently after encountering bad weather. WSJ reports that unnamed eyewitnesses say that the Andromeda displayed a “small Ukrainian flag.”

Ships calling on ports are expected to display the flag of their origin country. Called Ensigns, the Andromeda should have displayed the flag of Germany if the vessel was owned by German interests and not registered elsewhere (as sometimes is the case). 

It would not show the Ukrainian flag because Ukrainians rented the Andromeda, according to the WSJ report.

But this tantalizing fact about the flag says something more. No secret operation to destroy a multibillion-dollar pipeline would display its national flag.

Either there was no Ukrainian operation to blow up the pipeline, in which case the Andromeda could have displayed a Ukrainian flag along with a flag of the vessel’s national origin, or if it was a secret operation then displaying such a flag makes no sense.

The story about bad weather also seems like fiction. Photos of the exploded pipeline show sunny weather.

The real question is, what is the origin of the WSJ story and why would a respected newspaper feature a story that cannot be verified with authoritative sourcing? 

The WSJ story has undermined both Zelensky’s and Zaluzhny’s credibility. Was the story fed to the WSJ as preparation for a US operation to replace Zelensky and Zaluzhny?Zaluzhny is now Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, but at the time of the pipeline incident, he was the Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. 

More importantly, he has been touted as a replacement for Zelensky. But Zaluzhny is as hard-line as Zelensky on Russia, so it may be that he is not the preferred Western candidate to replace the Ukrainian leader. WSJ may thus have been used to help knock off both Zelensky and Zaluzhny.

It is noteworthy that the article says that the German authorities do not have evidence on Zaluzhny that they could bring into a courtroom, so Zaluzhny (who has denied any involvement in the Nord Stream sabotage) remains in his job and has not been indicted by any German courts.

Zelensky also has denied any involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline’s destruction.

Other writers, most notably veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, have argued that Nord Stream was likely destroyed in a US operation, possibly with help from others. Hersh provided a detailed description of how he believes the sabotage operation unfolded. 

He correctly notes that top US officials, including President Joe Biden and former acting undersecretary of state Victoria Nuland, openly pushed for the pipeline’s destruction. Once the US declared its desire for its destruction, putting aside who was tasked to carry it out, the US found itself in an awkward position. 

The same is true for the German government, which has supported US denials of involvement in the pipeline affair and sought to pass it off on the Ukrainians. While earlier stories did not claim Zelensky’s or Zaluzhny’s involvement, the newest “leaks” are directly aimed at them. Germany is in lockstep with Washington.

All of this is playing out while the Ukraine war is likely in its last stages. Ukraine’s Kursk operation is openly aimed at setting the stage for peace talks with Russia.

It is clear that Zelensky, who is aligned with nationalistic right-wing elements in the army, is the wrong interlocutor for such talks and probably not acceptable to the Russians. If he is soon gone, one can expect a more pliable stand-in to take his place at the negotiating table.

Zelensky, meanwhile, has a major problem with Washington that goes beyond his inflexibility. The Washington Post reported on August 17 that the Kursk attack has derailed sensitive, secret negotiations hosted in Qatar aimed at a partial ceasefire focused on Ukraine and Russia’s energy infrastructure. If a deal could be reached, then it would open the door for peace negotiations. 

The Ukrainians, led by Zelensky and military chief Oleksandr Syrsky, undermined the deal in four ways, namely:

In addition, there are credible reports that Ukraine intends a major military operation against the ZNPP and is preparing to carry it out soon. Other reports, so far unconfirmed but appearing widely on Telegram channels, claim Ukraine is preparing a “dirty bomb” to use on Russian territory.

If all the above reports are true, and some of them certainly are, Zelensky has become a rogue actor not only for Russia but also for the US.

Stephen Bryen is senior correspondent at Asia Times. He served as staff director of the Near East Subcommittee of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as a deputy undersecretary of defense for policy. 

This article was originally published on Weapons and Strategy, his Substack, and is republished with permission.