NEW YORK, August 15. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky initially approved a plan to sabotage the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines, but later tried to cancel his decision after the US Central Intelligence Agency found out about it, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.

The newspaper pointed out that high-ranking Ukrainian officials first spoke about the possibility of undermining the gas pipelines in May 2022. According to the original plan, the operation involved a small yacht and several divers, including a woman. Their presence was supposed to create the illusion of a simple friendly cruise. Ukrainian businessmen, among others, were to finance the bombing. All agreements were made verbally so as not to leave evidence in the form of documents.

Zelensky approved the plan, but the US Central Intelligence Agency found out about it. At the request of the CIA, the Ukrainian leader announced the cancellation of the operation, but former top Ukrainian military commander Valery Zaluzhny not only ignored his demand, but also changed the original plan. In particular, Zaluzhny involved Roman Chervinsky, an ex-officer of Ukraine’s main security and intelligence service, in organizing the attack.

Earlier, the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported, citing a joint investigation by the ARD TV channel and the Die Zeit newspaper, that German prosecutors had issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian diving instructor suspected of having played a role in sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines. According to the newspaper, he had recently been living in Poland, having gone into hiding. The German prosecutor's office, the newspaper said, suspects two other Ukrainian diving instructors of involvement in the Nord Streams sabotage, among them there is a woman. It is believed that all three may have been part of the Andromeda yacht crew, which is the focus of the German investigation. The vessel may have been used to deliver explosives to the pipelines.