# Zaluzhny and the Nordstream prosecution > **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou. > > Cite as: "Zaluzhny and the Nordstream prosecution," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/zaluzhny-and-the-nordstream-prosecution/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia. *John Kiriakou's reaction to German investigators drawing a bead on the former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces over the Nordstream sabotage: that the CIA and the Pentagon now wish the case would go away, that the truth is not supposed to come out in such an operation, that Seymour Hersh probably had the kernel but not the details, and that it was very likely a joint operation. He expects somebody to go to prison.* - **Target of the investigation:** Valeriy Zaluzhny, then Ukraine's ambassador in London - **His former post:** Commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces - **Kiriakou's read on Washington:** The CIA and Pentagon wish it would go away - **His maxim:** "The truth is not supposed to come out in an operation like this" - **On Hersh:** Probably had the kernel of truth, not the details - **His own theory:** Very likely a joint operation - **His prediction:** This man is going to prison Told that German investigators had moved past the story of a chartered pleasure yacht and were now pursuing Valeriy Zaluzhny — the former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, by then Ukraine's ambassador in London — John Kiriakou treated the development as a problem for Washington rather than for Kyiv. ## The reaction in Langley "This is kind of a crazy development, isn't it?" Kiriakou said.[1] His reading of the mood in American institutions was specific: "now in the halls of the [CIA](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia) and the Pentagon, they just wish this thing would go away."[1] He gave the reason as a rule of the trade: "the truth is not supposed to come out in an operation like this."[1] Whoever did it, he said, the result was a sop to the Ukrainians and the West — "and the Germans can't leave well enough alone."[1][2] He expected quiet pressure to follow. "Behind closed doors today, there are probably calls going back and forth to the Germans saying, come on, you guys, just let this go. It's not going to help anybody getting to the bottom of the truth."[2] ## Hersh, half right Asked whether both things could be true at once — that Seymour Hersh was correct but had only half the story — Kiriakou agreed and generalised the point into his standing criticism of the reporter. "This is the problem with Sy," he said: "he'll run with a story when he has just one source."[3] The consequence he draws is not that Hersh is wrong but that he is incomplete: "oftentimes he does have that kernel of truth for the story. He just doesn't have the details. I think this is probably one of those cases."[3][4] His own conclusion follows from capability rather than allegiance: "It very well could have been a joint operation, which makes more sense. You'd need that kind of expertise if you don't have it in house."[4] ## The prediction On where the German case ends, Kiriakou was willing to be concrete. "I think that we're going to see people prosecuted," he said, and singled out the Ukrainian officer the Wall Street Journal had named: "he's going to be in the dock soon. He's going to be forced to testify whether he likes it or not."[5] "And I think somebody — probably this guy — is going to go to prison."[5] [Ted Rall](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/ted-rall) questioned whether a man of that rank could really be delivered up, calling him Ukraine's Colin Powell. Kiriakou accepted the comparison and dismissed its protective force in a sentence: "Yeah, he's the Colin Powell. But I mean, he's a nobody now. It's all over for him."[6] ## See also - [Nord Stream pipeline sabotage](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/nordstream-pipeline-sabotage) - [The Nordstream patsy](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-nordstream-patsy) - [The Hersh publishing collapse](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-hersh-publishing-collapse) - [Ted Rall](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/ted-rall) ## Sources 1. DeProgram (Ted Rall) (2025-11-10), at 53:01. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uJAMwNGkkQ&t=3181s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-11-10-deprogram-ted-rall-deprogram-ted-rall/ 2. DeProgram (Ted Rall) (2025-11-10), at 53:31. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uJAMwNGkkQ&t=3211s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-11-10-deprogram-ted-rall-deprogram-ted-rall/ 3. DeProgram (Ted Rall) (2025-11-10), at 54:02. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uJAMwNGkkQ&t=3242s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-11-10-deprogram-ted-rall-deprogram-ted-rall/ 4. DeProgram (Ted Rall) (2025-11-10), at 54:33. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uJAMwNGkkQ&t=3273s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-11-10-deprogram-ted-rall-deprogram-ted-rall/ 5. DeProgram (Ted Rall) (2025-11-10), at 55:05. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uJAMwNGkkQ&t=3305s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-11-10-deprogram-ted-rall-deprogram-ted-rall/ 6. DeProgram (Ted Rall) (2025-11-10), at 55:35. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uJAMwNGkkQ&t=3335s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-11-10-deprogram-ted-rall-deprogram-ted-rall/ --- From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/zaluzhny-and-the-nordstream-prosecution/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt