The operation to blow up the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines was financed by businessmen, and its implementation was personally approved by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing its sources.

According to the publication, about $300,000 was spent on the sabotage. Six people took part in it, who went out into the Baltic Sea on a rented yacht. Among them was a woman to create the illusion of a pleasure trip for friends.

As one of the officers who took part in the operation and three people familiar with it told the newspaper, Zelensky initially approved the plan. Later, the CIA found out about this and asked the Ukrainian president to cancel the plan, he ordered its implementation to be stopped. However, the gas pipelines were eventually blown up. The question remains who exactly put the plan into action – Zelensky’s group or someone else?