Ukranian involvement in Nord Stream sabbotage must impact Dutch military support: MP's

If Ukraine proves to be behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, that must have consequences for the military support from the Netherlands to the country, according to coalition parties BBB and PVV. Germany has issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian living in Poland for involvement in the attack, and two other Ukrainians are also suspected. The PVV posed parliamentary questions about the matter.

The Nord Stream, an important pipeline for natural gas between Russia and Germany, exploded in the Baltic Sea in September 2022, significantly worsening the energy crisis that started when Russia invaded Ukraine in February of that year. Sabotage was the immediate assumption, and several countries launched investigations.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the sabotage was a drunken scheme cooked up by a handful of Ukrainian military officers and businessmen. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially approved the plan but pulled the plug when the United States found out - based on information from the Dutch military intelligence service MIVD - and asked him to back off, sources involved in the sabotage told the newspaper. Valeriy Zaluzhniy, Zelenskyy’s commander-in-chief, decided to forge ahead without official support.

The entire operation cost around 300,000 dollars, the WSJ’s sources said. It involved a rented yacht with six crew members, including civilian divers and one woman, to sell the idea that they were a group of friends on a pleasure cruise. “I always laugh when I read media speculation about some huge operation involving secret services, submarines, drones, and satellites,” an involved officer told the newspaper. “The whole thing was born out of a night of heavy boozing and the iron determination of a handful of people who had the guts to risk their lives for their country.”

If this proves to be true, it could have consequences for Dutch support for Ukraine, BBB foreign affairs spokesperson Henk Vermeer said on the NOS radio program Sven op 1. But he stressed that it is still too early to conclude that Ukraine was behind the attack.

“We do not know that. If a Dutch person commits an attack somewhere, that does not automatically mean that the Netherlands is behind it or gave the order. It could involve terrorist organizations, a state, or, in theory, even Ukraine,” Vermeer said. “Of course, it could have major consequences, but you can only determine that when you know who gave the order. Then you have to look at what the consequences are.”

The PVV has submitted parliamentary questions to Prime Minister Dick Schoof and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense about the matter, PVV leader Geert Wilders said on X. “The Cabinet must clarify whether Ukraine is behind the attack! This could have major consequences,” he said.

In the parliamentary questions, the PVV parliamentarians called the sabotage “a very serious crime also against essential interests of the Dutch State with great consequences also for Dutch society.” The MPs believe that such an attack cannot be without consequences.

Wilders and his PVV are known to have ties with Russia. Continued support for Ukraine against the Russian invaders was a major concern after Wilders’ far-right party won the parliamentary election in November last year.