One year of Nord Stream explosions: Reports allege Ukrainian role

A year has passed since explosions rocked the Nord Stream pipelines, cutting off a major route for Russian gas exports to Europe and reports allege that Ukrainians may have played a role in this.

The blasts occurred in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark, so both countries launched investigations into the incident. So far, they say the explosions were deliberate, but they have yet to single out who was behind the blasts, according to a report in Aljazeera.

On September 26, 2022, several underwater blasts ruptured three of the four pipelines comprising Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, throwing vast amounts of gas into the Baltic Sea near Bornholm, Denmark.


“Dutch military intelligence warned the CIA of a Ukrainian plan to blow up the pipelines three months before the attack, Dutch broadcaster NOS and Germany’s Die Zeit and ARD reported in June. The Washington Post made a similar claim,” according to a report in Aljazeera.

The Washington Post reported that the US received information three months before the “bombing” of the Nord Stream pipeline. A European intelligence service shared the plan with the CIA in June 2022. This report has not been previously disclosed. According to the Washington Post, the reports found specific evidence linking Ukraine’s Government to the attack on the pipeline.

This March, The New York Times wrote that US officials had seen intelligence indicating a “pro-Ukrainian group” was responsible, without Zelenskyy’s knowledge. In June, The Wall Street Journal reported Germany was trying to match DNA samples found on the vessel “to at least one Ukrainian soldier”.

Moscow had alleged that the US had prior knowledge of Ukraine’s plans to “sabotage” the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. A six-month long investigation undertaken jointly by German media houses also alleged possible Ukrainian hand in the incident.

Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines stretch 760 miles from the Russian northwest coast to Lubmin in northeast Germany. The first was completed in 2011 and cost more than $12 billion to build while Nord Stream 2 cost slightly less and was completed in 2021 despite backlash.