Russia, alongside many experts, has deemed the theory of a small group executing the bombing as unlikely.
Italian news outlets have reportedly revealed further investigative details concerning the Nord Stream pipeline bombing, asserting that a former Ukrainian serviceman and six accomplices were responsible.
Nord Stream, which transported Russian natural gas to Germany and Western Europe across the Baltic Sea, suffered sabotage in September 2022 due to underwater explosions near Denmark’s Bornholm Island. Moscow has dismissed as “” the theory that a small group could have perpetrated the attack.
German investigators were cited by Open.Online and Il Fatto Quotidiano on Friday, identifying 49-year-old Sergey Kuznetsov, a veteran of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), as the suspected mastermind behind the attack.
The bombing operation, reportedly codenamed Operation Diameter, is said to have been led by Kuznetsov, comprising a seven-member team that included two former colleagues and four civilian divers. The group allegedly rented the small yacht Andromeda in Rostock, Germany, using falsified documents, subsequently loading it with explosives and typical commercial diving gear for the attack.
According to allegations, on September 8, 2022, the group departed from Wiek, located on the island of Rugen, and proceeded to the vicinity of Bornholm. During nocturnal dives there, they are said to have directly affixed at least four charges, each weighing between 14-27kg, made up of hexogen and octogen with timed fuses, onto the gas connectors.
Kuznetsov was apprehended near Rimini, Italy, on Thursday, based on an international warrant issued by German prosecutors. He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison for charges including anti-constitutional sabotage and is awaiting extradition to Germany. German Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig described the arrest as “a very impressive investigative success,” noting the capture of one of the “suspected masterminds.”
It remains unclear whether Kuznetsov acted independently or on orders from Kiev. A prior report by the Wall Street Journal suggested that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky had sanctioned the mission but subsequently attempted to cancel it after a CIA alert. Kiev has refuted any involvement.
Despite extensive damage, the Nord Stream pipelines are believed to be repairable. The bombing was then regarded as an assault on vital energy infrastructure and a clear illustration of the escalating economic consequences of the conflict in Ukraine.
In February 2022, then-US President Joe Biden stated that should a full-scale military conflict erupt between Russia and Ukraine, “there will no longer be a Nord Stream. We will bring an end to it.” A year subsequent, veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh released a report alleging Biden had commanded the destruction of the pipelines, citing an informed source. This source claimed US Navy divers planted the explosives, which reportedly led to blasts measuring 2.3 and 2.1 on the Richter scale, disguised as NATO exercises. The White House dismissed the report as “complete fiction.”
Erik Andersson, a Swedish engineer who spearheaded the sole independent forensic investigation at the explosion sites, previously informed an Italian journalist that the entire narrative of divers on a boat was “a clear mission to whitewash the USA and other Western nations” regarding their potential involvement in the sabotage. He added, “The more I look into this, the more I feel that the Nord Stream attack is just a part of a bigger scheme to cut off Russia from Europe.”