New American revelations state that the US knew about a Ukrainian plan to blow up the Nord Stream, months before it happened. According to the information, the CIA also informed other countries, including Germany.
What Exactly Happened?
A European spy agency told the CIA knew of a plan by a Ukrainian special operations group to blow up the Nord Stream gas pipeline three months before the explosions that damaged the underwater system last year. This was reported by the famous American newspaper The Washington Post.
The paper cited US intelligence documents it said were leaked this year by a low-ranking US Air National Guard computer technician who had access to a large amount of classified material.
The leaked documents indicated that a European intelligence agency tipped off the US spy agency in June 2022 - four months after Russia began its campaign in Ukraine - that Ukrainian army divers were planning the attack with the direct involvement of the country's top military commander.
The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which were built to carry natural gas from Russia to Germany, were rocked by underwater explosions on September 26, causing them to lose functionality and disconnect. Thus, Moscow lost a source of several billions.
The apparent sabotage caused panic around the world, as it cut off critical energy supplies to Europe.
The American The Washington Post, citing unnamed officials, said that after the US Central Intelligence Agency learned of the reported bombing plan, it informed allies such as Germany.
The European spies made it clear to the Americans that the operation was not fake, since they were supervised by the military leader of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzny, but without the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky knowing anything.
The American newspaper's publication is supported by information gathered by German investigators. According to this information, a group of six people used fake passports to take a large sailing ship from the German port city of Rostock last September.
The boat is said to have been chartered by a "front" company.
According to German media reports last week, metadata from e-mails used to charter the yacht are linked to Ukraine. The president of the "front" company actually lives in Kiev.
However, Danish media recently reported that a Russian vessel specially designed for underwater operations was photographed at the site of the sabotage shortly before the explosions took place.