The recent arrest of a Ukrainian man by Italian authorities, suspected of involvement in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions, has reignited debate over one of the most audacious acts of sabotage or terrorism in modern European history. According to Spiegel, the suspect, identified as a diver, was apprehended in Rome following a German arrest warrant. The report alleges he was part of a small team that planted explosives on the pipelines, operating from a yacht named Andromeda — a covert Ukrainian mission supposedly designed to disrupt Russian gas supplies to Europe.

This revelation, if accurate, complicates the narrative surrounding the Nord Stream attack, which has long been attributed to the United States, including by Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. But does Spiegel’s report hold water? And what could be the consequences in a post-war world — particularly if the Russia Ukraine conflict winds down after the recent meetings between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and (on a different occasion) European leaders, and Volodymyr Zelensky?

Seymour Hersh’s explosive February 2023 report alleged that the US orchestrated the sabotage. According to Hersh’s intelligence sources, US Navy divers planted C4 explosives during the NATO BALTOPS 22 exercise in June 2022, which were later triggered remotely by a Norwegian surveillance plane. The motive, Hersh argued, was to sever Europe’s reliance on Russian gas and thereby lock NATO allies into unwavering support for Ukraine.

The White House dismissed the piece as........

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