Russian Sabotage

Russia blew up Nord Stream, and it is Final: The Detonator Revealed

Putin himself lit up the fuse to the German pipe, deep below the surface of the Baltic.

It is was clear as day that Putin blew up the Nord Stream pipelines.

“European leaders blame Russian ‘sabotage’ after Nord Stream explosions.” The Washington Post, September 27, 2022

We were all just waiting for the final, damning evidence, a photo of the man himself in a wetsuit, smiling for the camera while personally rigging the explosives to the pipe. It was the only story that mattered. The experts were sure, the news cycle was sure, and because it fit perfectly into the script, I was sure.

How Putin Blew Up the Nord Stream, all by himself

The reporting in those early months of 2022 and 2023 was a masterclass in certainty. The Guardian, in a piece headlined “European leaders blame sabotage as gas pours into Baltic from Nord Stream pipelines” (September 27, 2022), reported that

“fingers pointed at Russia”

amid talk of a “weaponisation” of Europe’s energy supply to the continent.

The New York Times, in an article titled “Pipeline Leaks Raise Specter of Russian Sabotage” (September 28, 2022), reported that:

“officials in Europe and the United States were quick to suggest that Russia was behind the damage.” NY Times, 2022

CNN, in coverage titled “Mystery leaks in Nord Stream pipelines lead to claims of Russian sabotage” (September 28, 2022), reported that

“European officials are increasingly pointing the finger at Russia for the damage to the Nord Stream pipelines.” CNN, 2022

The Deutsch Welle was not far behind:

“Who was behind this act of sabotage? Was it ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, or did the US government have something to do with it?” DW, 2023

We did not need trials or investigations when we had such a convenient enemy.

Then we had the experts like my Medium hero Dylan Combellick, whose logic was as cinematic as a direct to video spy flick. You see, Russia blew up its own pipes to trigger Force Majeure and dodge lawsuits:

“Gazprom has gas contracts with Germany and came close to violating them. Force Majeure Unexplained or unexplainable explosions on both gas lines give Gazprom an out when Germany sues them for billions.” (Dylan Combellick, September 2022)

And:

“Russia is hoping that Europe is going to run out of gas this winter. After the North Stream explosion Putin can take off his shirt and say, If you end the sanctions, we would be able to repair the lines.” (Dylan Combellick, September 2022)

Dylan even peddled a scheme for Germany that defied the laws of fluid dynamics and common sense, ignoring the fact that the extreme internal gas pressure and crushing subsea depth make such an improvised connection physically impossible.

“ Cut Nordstream pipes, attach a hose, and the ship can sit at anchor… and pump its gas right into German turbines.” (Dylan Combellick, September 2022)

And the most laughable of all, his plan for the sabotage itself. He wrote

“There was a James Bond movie, I forget which one… James climbs into this thing called a pig and zooms along down a natural gas pipe… Nordstream has these pigs, too; it would be trivial to strap some explosives onto a few of them, send them down the pipe, and boom!… There’s not really a lot of options other than this.” (Dylan Combellick, September 2022)

On June 30, 2026, the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office, known for its lightning speed, took a mere three years and nine months to finally file formal charges. And it was not a story about the Kremlin. The indictment details how Serhii K., an officer in the Ukrainian army, worked with other military personnel under the authority of the Ukrainian state to plan the destruction of the pipelines.

“German federal prosecutors have charged a former Ukrainian army officer with being the co-perpetrator of a war crime over the 2022 Nord Stream gas pipeline blasts, accusing him of acting on behalf of Ukrainian state entities.”Reuters, July 2, 2026

The goal was simple: to blow up gas deliveries and permanently close the discussion of delivery of Russian gas through the Nord Stream pipes again.

“Serhii K. was an officer in the Ukrainian army in 2022. After the start of the Russian war of aggression at the end of February 2022, he and other military personnel developed a plan on behalf of state authorities in Ukraine to destroy the natural gas pipelines “Nord Stream 1” and “Nord Stream 2,” which run from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Lubmin in Germany. The aim was to permanently stop gas deliveries via the pipelines and prevent Russia from using the revenue from natural gas trading to finance its war efforts.”

Germany’s Federal Prosecutor has formally charged Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznetsov in connection with the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

According to the investigation, the group used a sailing yacht chartered from a German company in Rostock, relying on fake documents and intermediaries to move high grade explosives into international waters. They attached the devices on September 22, and by September 26, the lines were gone. According to the prosecutor, “it was a calculated, state sanctioned military strike on civilian infrastructure, overseen by top leadership, including (at the time) Ukrainian commander in chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, acting in ways that blindsided the political hierarchy.”

The defense now tries to argue that this was an act done in the name of peace, but the German prosecutors say that sabotaging energy infrastructure in the European Union is a war crime, plain and simple. We now have an investigation that suggests this was a deliberate act carried out by a Zelenskyy regime that German and the eU leaders continue to shower with over 150 billion euros and weapons.

We spent years mocking the truth and worshiping a lie because it was easier to blame a caricature than to look at who was actually holding the detonator.

Footnotes

1. The Guardian, “European leaders blame sabotage as gas pours into Baltic from Nord Stream pipelines,” September 27, 2022.
2. The New York Times, “Pipeline Leaks Raise Specter of Russian Sabotage,” September 28, 2022.
3. CNN, “Mystery leaks in Nord Stream pipelines lead to claims of Russian sabotage,” September 28, 2022.
4. These lines are drawn from a Medium post by a Dylan Combellick, “Nordstream — How and Why,” published October 1, 2022, arguing Russia sabotaged its own pipelines.
5. German federal prosecutors filed the indictment against Serhii K. at the regional court in Hamburg; reporting places the filing in late June/early July 2026, with the charges becoming public around July 1–2, 2026. Sources: Associated Press/ABC News, “German prosecutors charge a Ukrainian over Nord Stream pipeline explosions,” July 2, 2026; Al Jazeera, “German prosecutors allege Ukraine ordered Nord Stream pipeline attack,” July 2, 2026.
6. Al Jazeera reports the indictment describes Serhii K. as having led a team of divers, a ship captain, and an explosives expert who entered Germany on forged documents in September 2022.
7. Reuters, July 2, 2026, as characterized in reporting on the charges; corroborated by AP and Al Jazeera coverage of the same filing.
8. Both AP and Al Jazeera report prosecutors described the aim as permanently halting gas deliveries and denying Russia the associated war-financing revenue.
9. AP/ABC News and Al Jazeera both report the yacht was rented from a German company in Rostock using forged identity documents, and that explosives were transported through international waters to a site near Bornholm before the September 26, 2022 blasts, which destroyed three of the four Nord Stream lines.
10. AP/ABC News reports the suspect was detained in an Italian village in August 2025 and extradited to Germany in November 2025.
11. This is the most contested part of the story, and the article’s framing goes further than the confirmed record supports. A February 2026 Der Spiegel report said the operation was approved by then-commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi but that President Zelenskyy’s office was reportedly not informed at the time. A later Wall Street Journal report (June 2026) instead claimed Zaluzhnyi had informed Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy has publicly denied his government ordered the attack, and after the German charges were announced he said Kyiv had not yet received full details of the indictment and could not respond substantively. Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak has also denied Ukrainian state responsibility. In short: the indictment ties the operation to “Ukrainian state entities” and named individuals, but who in the political leadership knew, approved, or was kept in the dark is not settled by the German charges themselves. Sources: Wikipedia, “Nord Stream pipelines sabotage” (summarizing Der Spiegel and WSJ reporting); Al Jazeera, July 2, 2026.
12. AP/ABC News and Al Jazeera report the specific charges: causing an explosion, damaging property, disrupting public service, and being an “accomplice to war crimes” for attacking civilian objects, carrying a minimum three-year sentence under German law if convicted. Note that as of these reports, the case is a set of formal charges, not a completed trial or conviction — Serhii K. has denied involvement.