A top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied a report in The Wall Street Journal that his government approved a plan to blow up the Nord Stream pipelines in September of 2022. According to the Journal, a six-member crew of Ukrainian civilians and active-duty soldiers used a small rented yacht, satellite navigation, sonar and seabed maps to reach the Nord Stream pipelines on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, where divers used an explosive known as HMX and timer-controlled detonators to rupture the pipelines, triggering a massive release of methane gas. The blasts severed three of the four pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe. Zelensky reportedly approved the plan but later sought to halt it after a Dutch intelligence agency learned of the plot and informed the CIA. Zelensky’s commander-in-chief, Valery Zaluzhny, who was leading the effort, reportedly forged ahead with the plan despite Zelensky’s U-turn.