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Senior Ukrainian official coordinated Nord Stream pipeline attack: report

A former senior Ukrainian official was the coordinator of the explosions that ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines, the Washington Post reported, citing Ukrainian officials and European sources, and in conjunction with German periodical Der Spiegel.

Roman Chervinsky, a former commander of one of the Ukrainian special forces units, was the “coordinator of the Nord Stream operation” and managed a six-person team that carried out the devastating multibillion-dollar infrastructure attack in September 2022, according to the report.

The outlet said Chervinsky and the group of six people rented a sailboat under false identities and used deep-sea diving equipment to place explosive charges on the gas pipelines. 

Chervinsky did not act alone and did not plan the operation, but was obeying the orders of high-ranking officers who ultimately answered to Ukraine’s highest-ranking military officer, Valery Zaluzhny, the Post said, citing people familiar with his role.

NORD STREAM EXPLOSION, LEAK AN ‘ACT OF SABOTAGE,’ WHITE HOUSE ADVISER KIRBY SAYS

Chervinsky, in a written statement to the Washington Post, denied his involvement in the Nord Streams sabotage.

“All speculations about my involvement in the attack on Nord Stream are being spread by Russian propaganda without any basis,” Chervinsky said.

Since the Sept. 26, 2022, explosion, rumors have swirled around who was responsible for the sabotage of the Nord Streams — with people quick to point fingers to Washington, Kyiv or Moscow.

RUSSIA URGES UN TO INVESTIGATE NORD STREAM EXPLOSION 

In February, Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, alleged that U.S. Navy divers laid bombs that destroyed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under a direct order from President Joe Biden. 

National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson John Kirby repeatedly denied the United States was involved in the explosions following Hersh’s reporting.

“It’s a completely false story. There is no truth to it, Shannon,” Kirby told host Shannon Bream, on “Fox News Sunday” in February. “Not a shred of it. It is not true. The United States, and no proxies of the United States, had anything to do with that, nothing.”

The White House, the CIA and the NSC all said that Hersh’s report was “utterly false and complete fiction.”

Following the sabotage, Russia called for the United Nations to investigate the sabotage. 

In a joint letter to council members in the UN, Denmark, Sweden and Germany reiterated that acts of sabotage against the pipelines were “unacceptable, endanger international security and give cause for our deep concern.”

Concerns about the indirect effects on greenhouse gas emissions are “substantial and worrisome,” the letter said.

The National Security Council did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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White House reacts to Speaker’s ‘extreme’ stopgap funding bill 

The White House reacted to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) new stopgap funding bill Saturday, calling it “extreme.”

“This proposal is just a recipe for more Republican chaos and more shutdowns—full stop,” a statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre read. “With just days left before an Extreme Republican Shutdown—and after shutting down Congress for three weeks after they ousted their own leader—House Republicans are wasting precious time with an unserious proposal that has been panned by members of both parties.”

“An Extreme Republican Shutdown would put critical national security and domestic priorities at risk, including by forcing service members to work without pay,” Jean-Pierre continued. “This comes just days after House Republicans were forced to pull two of their own extreme appropriations bills from the floor—further deepening their dysfunction.”

The bill, a “laddered” continuing resolution (CR) would result in some funding running out in mid-January and the rest running out in early February. It tries to dissuade negotiation on a whole-of-government omnibus funding bill and attempts to push for the two houses of Congress to negotiate on the 12 regular funding bills.

“This two-step continuing resolution is a necessary bill to place House Republicans in the best position to fight for conservative victories,” Johnson posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “The bill will stop the absurd holiday-season omnibus tradition of massive, loaded up spending bills introduced right before the Christmas recess.”

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) had a positive response to the bill, saying he is “asking all congressional Republicans to support his decision.”

“Speaker Johnson did not create the mess we are in, but is acting responsibly to avoid a shutdown and put an end to the finely-honed process that has mortgaged our children’s future,” Sen. Johnson posted to X.     

Sen. Johnson’s Democratic colleague, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), appeared to have a polar opposite reaction to the CR.

“We are going to pass a clean short term CR. The only question is whether we do it stupidly and catastrophically or we do it like adults,” Schatz posted to X. “There’s nothing inherently conservative about making simple things super convoluted, and all of this nonsense costs taxpayer money.”

The bill does not include any aid to Israel amid its conflict with Palestinian militant group Hamas. House GOP members passed a $14.3 billion package for aid to Israel earlier this month, however, it also includes $14.3 billion in cuts to IRS funding and earned fierce opposition from Democrats in Washington. 

Speaker Johnson’s fellow House Republican, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) also stated his opposition to the CR. “My opposition to the clean CR just announced by the Speaker to the @HouseGOP cannot be overstated. Funding Pelosi level spending & policies for 75 days – for future ‘promises,’” Roy posted to X.

Go to Source: Administration News | The Hill