Nord Stream pipeline sabotage by US theory

On September 26 2022, four explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines connecting Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Initial attribution split between Russian self-sabotage, Ukrainian operations, and Western state involvement.

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a February 2023 Substack report attributing the sabotage to US Navy divers operating under the cover of the June 2022 BALTOPS exercise, with Norwegian assistance and a planted C-4 charge detonated by sonar buoy. Tucker Carlson devoted multiple segments to amplifying Hersh's account.

Competing reporting from New York Times and Der Spiegel in March 2023 attributed the attack to a small Ukrainian team using the chartered yacht 'Andromeda'. German prosecutors in August 2024 issued an arrest warrant for Ukrainian diver Volodymyr Z. The Biden administration denied US involvement.

--- _Seeded into conspiracyg knowledge graph from curated figure-anchored list. Showing the connection, not the verdict._