New Book Points to Ukraine Behind Nord Stream Attack: “We Did It For Our Country”

A forthcoming book by Wall Street Journal journalist Bojan Pancevski claims that it was a Ukrainian team of former intelligence officers and civilian divers who were behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022. In interviews with a Danish newspaper, the author says that over three years of work, he collected testimonies from individuals who took part in the operation themselves—as well as from German investigators.

The sabotage of the Russian gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 in the Baltic Sea in autumn 2022 is one of the most discussed attacks in Europe in recent years. When four leaks were discovered near Bornholm, initial suspicions were directed at both Russia and the USA.

In the book ‘The Nord Stream Conspiracy’—to be published in English in June—Bojan Pancevski supports claims that the truth is different: that it was a Ukrainian operation carried out by a small group who sailed out aboard the rented yacht Andromeda.

In conversations with the Danish newspaper Berlingske, Pancevski describes that he interviewed both suspected perpetrators and people involved in the German investigation.

Testimonies from participants

According to the book, several former Ukrainian intelligence officers and divers describe how the attack was planned and executed. They reportedly show no remorse, but rather pride.

One of the divers, according to Pancevski, says he did it “for my country” and for those defending Ukraine in the war. The same person is also said to have admitted that he placed timed explosive charges on the pipelines at the seabed.

Operation via Poland and Germany

According to the information in the book, the group consisted of seven Ukrainians—six men and one woman—who transported explosives through several European countries, hidden in diving tanks. They are then said to have sailed from the German port of Wiek via, among other places, Nexø and Christiansø before the charges were placed near Bornholm.

Pancevski describes for Berlingske that the operation was bold and risky—dives to about 80 meters depth, without decompression chambers, without escort vessels, and in harsh weather.

Speed camera became decisive clue

A central detail in the book is that one of the suspects, codenamed “Iceman,” was photographed by a German speed camera while driving a yellow Citroën north towards the Baltic Sea.

Pancevski tells Berlingske that this was “the biggest breakthrough in the investigation.” According to him, DNA traces, residues of explosive material on Andromeda, and materials from border checks were recovered thereafter.

After just over two years of investigation, all seven individuals are said to have been identified.

German legal proceedings ongoing

Germany is the country that has continued the legal process the longest. A former Ukrainian officer, identified in media as “Serhii K.,” was arrested in Italy in 2025 and extradited to Germany.

Another suspect, “Volodymyr Z.,” was arrested in Poland but was not extradited after a Polish court’s decision.

Sweden and Denmark concluded their investigations during 2024, arguing that there was insufficient evidence for prosecution in each respective country.

Allegations of a larger plan

Pancevski’s book also claims that the Nord Stream explosions were originally only part of a larger Ukrainian plan codenamed “Diameter.”

According to sources, the idea was to simultaneously strike Russian energy exports in both the north and south; the TurkStream pipeline is also mentioned as a target. That part of the operation is said to have failed.

Pancevski further states to Berlingske that the American intelligence services tried to stop the plans once they became aware of them, fearing political consequences for Germany.

A divided expert community

For a long time, several military analysts dismissed the theory that a small group of Ukrainians on a 15-meter sailing boat could have pulled off such an advanced operation.

After the revelations in the new book, however, several experts have reconsidered their positions, writes Berlingske. Others still maintain that the Andromeda story is a decoy cover story and assert that Russian actors cannot yet be ruled out.

The question of Zelenskyy

One of the most sensitive questions concerns whether Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was aware of the plan. Pancevski tells Berlingske that his sources claim Zelenskyy later ordered the operation to be stopped after pressure from the US.

Whether the order was received or followed is unclear. Zelenskyy has previously denied that Ukraine was behind the sabotage. That claim and the assertion that he ordered a halt to a sabotage operation contradict each other.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

An ongoing sensitive issue

Since 2022, the Nord Stream explosions have been a symbolic issue in the information war surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That individuals who claim to have participated are now coming forward could give new political dynamite to an event that still awaits its final legal review.