WASHINGTON, November 11. /TASS/. Roman Chervinsky, a former commander of one of the Ukrainian special forces units, was the coordinator of the explosions at the Nord Stream-1 and Nord Stream-2 pipelines, the Washington Post reported, citing Ukrainian officials and European sources.

According to the newspaper, Chervinsky “was the coordinator of the Nord Stream operation.” The Washington Post said that he was “managing 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.” The Ukrainian official “took orders from more senior Ukrainian officials,” who reported to Ukrainian top military commander Valery Zaluzhny.

The newspaper pointed out that the Ukrainian colonel, 48, “did not act alone and he did not plan the operation.” As the Washington Post noted, Chervinsky in a written statement denied his involvement in the Nord Streams sabotage. The newspaper emphasized that the information about Chervinsky’s role in the Nord Streams explosions “contradicts [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky’s public denials that his country was involved” in the sabotage.

The US State Department and the White House National Security Council have not yet responded to the request of TASS for comment on the information published in the Washington Post.

On April 21, the Ukrainian Security Service announced that Chervinsky had been charged under the article on abuse of power. According to the investigation, the Ukrainian military official, together with other persons, arbitrarily decided to carry out a so-called special operation to seize a Russian military aircraft. On April 25, a Kiev court arrested Chervinsky for two months without bail. In May, the court ruled to live him under arrest.

On September 27, 2022, Nord Stream AG reported “unprecedented damage” on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system. Later, Swedish seismologists said they had identified two explosions on the route of the Nord Stream pipelines on September 26, 2022. Following the incident, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office initiated a criminal case on charges of international terrorism. Germany, Denmark and Sweden announced national investigations, but refused to involve Russia.

Germany, Denmark and Sweden announced national investigations, but refused to involve Russia. On February 8, Hersh wrote in his article that explosive devices were placed under the gas pipelines in June 2022 by US Navy divers with the assistance of Norwegian specialists. According to Hersh, the decision to conduct the operation was made by US President Joe Biden after nine months of discussions with administration officials charged with national security issues.