Of course, all actors are not perfectly rational, and Russia is notably irrational at the moment, so I guess they can't be eliminated from the list entirely. Still, I don't consider them the most likely.
The only thing that does make sense to me is if Vlad is trying to use the destruction of the pipe as a way to get sanctions lifted. The pipe and compressor stations that may have been destroyed are quite difficult to replace without the help of Russia. So Vlad may be trying to use his second-to-last card [1] to get the Germans on his side again.
To you and I, that's obviously not going to make the Germans be on his side. But Vlad isn't really playing with a full deck anymore (sorry for all the card related metaphors). Blowing up the pipes is a 'cunningly dumb' idea that kinda fits with end-stage regimes like his.
[1] the last card being his nukes
Edit: my bad, he has the chemical weapons and biological weapons cards left to play too
The diminutive form of the Russian name "Vladimir" is actually "Volodya".
While "Vlad" is the diminutive form of "Vladislav".
Putin is a master of distraction and confusion, skills that he learned earlier in his career.
I’m not saying that he definitely orchestrated the explosions, but his methods are often opaque, and not immediately rational.
[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/02/putin-ukra...