According to a report from The Washington Post, a European spy agency provided information to the CIA about a Ukrainian special operations team planning to blow up the Nord Stream gas pipeline. The US intelligence, allegedly leaked earlier this year by a low-level US Air National Guard computer technician with access to classified materials, revealed that the European intelligence body informed the US spy agency in June 2022, four months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The leaked documents indicated that Ukraine’s military divers, under the direct command of the country’s military chief, were orchestrating the attack. The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, crucial for transporting natural gas from Russia to Germany, were severely damaged by underwater explosions on September 26. These explosions rendered the pipelines inoperable and cut off a potential source of significant revenue for Russia. The sabotage triggered a regional energy emergency, exacerbating the already skyrocketing oil prices due to the ongoing war.
The Washington Post, citing unnamed officials, stated that the United States informed allies, including Germany, about the alleged bombing plot once the CIA learned of it. The initial European intelligence emphasized that the operation was not a rogue act and was overseen by military chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi without the knowledge of Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Supporting the Post’s report, German investigators discovered evidence indicating that a team of six individuals, using false passports, rented a sailboat from the German port of Rostock in September. This sailboat, rented through what appeared to be a front company, was linked to the operation. Recent reports from German media revealed that metadata from the emails used to rent the sailboat pointed to Ukraine, and the president of the front company resides in Kyiv.
However, Danish media recently published photographs showing a Russian navy vessel specializing in submarine operations near the location of the sabotage just before the incident occurred. This development adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing investigation.
As details continue to emerge, the revelation of a European spy agency’s knowledge of the Ukrainian plot to attack the Nord Stream gas pipeline highlights the intricate web of international intrigue and its impact on energy security in Europe.
