According to undisclosed sources in Ukraine and Europe, The Washington Post reports that a Ukrainian military officer was believed to have orchestrated the assault on the Nord Stream gas pipeline last year.

No one has taken responsibility for the September 2022 explosions, off the Danish island of Bornholm, that damaged three out of four offshore natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea and delivering Russian gas to Europe.

The United States and NATO, also known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, referred to it as a sabotage, whereas Moscow stated it was an instance of global terrorism.

Germany, Denmark, and Sweden are currently conducting investigations into the explosions that occurred at Nord Stream. These explosions released large amounts of methane into the atmosphere and the leak continued for several days.

According to sources, The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Roman Chervinsky, a highly decorated 48-year-old colonel from Ukraine’s special operations forces, was the “coordinator” of the Nord Stream operation.

According to sources, Chervinsky was responsible for organizing and providing assistance to a team of six individuals who rented a sailboat using fake identities. They used deep-sea diving gear to plant explosive devices on gas pipelines, as reported by The Washington Post.

On September 26, 2022, three blasts resulted in significant ruptures on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. As the winter season drew near, the attack severely damaged three out of the four gas connections in the pipeline network.

The representative for Ukraine’s armed forces informed the Reuters news agency that they had no knowledge of the allegation. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the SBU, a security organization in Kyiv, have not yet replied to inquiries for statements.

According to the newspaper, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has denied any involvement from Kyiv in the explosions, was not informed about the operation. Last week, Zelenskyy replaced the leader of Ukraine’s special forces.

Chervinsky has refuted any connection to the pipeline explosions. As a vocal opponent of Zelenskyy’s government, he believes the accusations against him are politically motivated.

Chervinsky stated in a written statement to The Washington Post and Der Spiegel that any claims of his involvement in the Nord Stream attack are baseless and being propagated by Russian propaganda. The two publications conducted a joint investigation into his alleged role.

In 2022, Chervinsky was arrested for allegedly persuading a Russian pilot to defect to Ukraine, resulting in a fatal attack by Russia on a Ukrainian air base.

Despite being accused of acting alone, Maj. Gen. Viktor Hanushchak, his commanding officer at the time, revealed to Ukrainian media earlier this year that higher military authorities had approved the plan to entice the Russian pilot.

The Post and Der Spiegel, a German newspaper, worked together to report and wrote individual articles that were released simultaneously.

In his video address on Sunday evening, President Zelenskyy cautioned Ukrainians to prepare for additional Russian assaults on the country’s infrastructure as winter nears.

Zelenskyy stated that we are nearing the middle of November and should be ready for the possibility of the enemy launching more attacks on our infrastructure using drones or missiles. He mentioned that our troops are bracing themselves for an attack on the eastern war front.

The warning was issued one day following Russia’s decision to resume launching missiles at Kyiv.

According to Ukraine’s energy minister, German Galushchenko, the nation has sufficient energy reserves to last through the upcoming winter. However, potential increases in Russian assaults may jeopardize the distribution of these resources.

A representative from the military stated that the recent Russian assaults on the devastated town of Avdiivka have lessened in the previous day, but are expected to escalate again soon.

According to Ukrainian military intelligence, a blast in the southern town of Melitopol, currently under Russian occupation, resulted in the deaths of at least three Russian soldiers. The explosion was deemed an act of retaliation by resistance factions.

According to the British defense ministry’s daily intelligence report on Ukraine, it is probable that significant members of the mercenary group known as Wagner Group have been integrated into the command hierarchy of Russia’s National Guard, Rosgvardiya.

This new faction is “likely” being led by Pavel Prigozhin, the son of the late Yevgeny Prigozhin, who headed the group before his death in an airplane crash, weeks after staging a mutiny targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Furthermore, according to the report, members of the Wagner group and medical staff have integrated into Chechen special operations units.

The British defense ministry stated that Russia is currently exerting greater direct authority over the operations of the Wagner Group.

According to a political source in Berlin, the governing coalition led by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has tentatively decided to increase military support for Ukraine to 8 billion euros (approximately $8.5 billion) in 2022.

If Scholz’s parties, who have a majority in parliament, approve it, Germany’s defense spending would increase to 2.1% of its gross domestic product goal, surpassing the 2% promised by all NATO members, according to the source.

Germany has suggested providing ongoing military support to Ukraine for a period of four years, with a budget of up to $5 billion per year. This proposal has been met with hesitation from various European Union nations, including Germany, who have concerns about committing to such a long-term plan. The aid is part of wider efforts by Western countries to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities.

Furthermore, the European Union is encountering difficulties in reaching the goal of providing Kyiv with 1 million artillery shells and missiles by March of next year.

This report received input from The Associated Press, Reuters, The Washington Post, and Agence France-Presse.

Source: voanews.com