Ukrainians informed the CIA in the spring of 2022 about the plan to blow up the 'Nord Streams,' and the Americans initially did not condemn these plans, writes Der Spiegel. The CIA firmly denies this information.
CIA agents and "Ukrainian sabotage specialists" met in Kyiv in the spring of 2022, shortly after the start of Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, to discuss a proposal from the Ukrainian side to blow up the "Nord Stream" and "Nord Stream 2" gas pipelines connecting Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea. This was reported by the weekly Der Spiegel on Thursday, February 19, citing "long-verified" sources in Ukraine and noting that through the sabotage of the "Nord Streams," Kyiv aimed to deprive Moscow of funds from gas sales to Europe, which it used to finance the war.
It is noted that this was the first, but not the only meeting of representatives of the American intelligence agency with the organizers of the attack on the "Nord Streams." According to the magazine, in the spring of 2022, the Americans "listened favorably" to the plans. At subsequent meetings, the parties discussed the technical details of the sabotage operation.
CIA Denies That the U.S. Knew About Plans to Blow Up 'NS' and 'NS-2'
A CIA representative rejected such claims as "completely and utterly false," although she did not specify what exactly was inaccurate, Der Spiegel writes. The publication conveys the main version of what happened as seen by investigators in Germany: six men and one woman carried out the sabotage, heading to the explosion site located near the Danish island of Bornholm on a small sailing yacht named Andromeda.
One of the participants and leaders of the operation - former Ukrainian military officer Sergey K. - is currently in pre-trial detention in Hamburg, the authors remind. According to an arrest warrant issued by the Federal Court of Germany and made public in mid-January, the operation to blow up the pipelines was "highly likely" managed at the state level, the publication states. "It is implied Ukraine. That is, the state to which the federal government of Germany has transferred many billions of euros as support since the beginning of the Russian invasion," the journalists clarify.
"And now it turns out that U.S. intelligence officials were apparently aware of the attack plan at an early stage and initially did not oppose it. Only later, according to investigations, did they change their minds and warn the Ukrainians about the consequences - but unsuccessfully," the journalists state.
Operation 'Diameter' to Blow Up the 'Nord Streams'
The operation to blow up the pipelines was codenamed "Diameter," writes Der Spiegel. In Ukraine, according to sources from the publication, it was approved by the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valeriy Zaluzhny. At the same time, the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was allegedly not informed.
As their Ukrainian interlocutors told German journalists, the Americans met with representatives from Kyiv at various stages and approved their plans. Allegedly, after the second meeting, the CIA gave the green light for the operation, the article states. Moreover, "the Ukrainian side even had the impression that the Americans could help with financing the operation."
Who Funded the Sabotage of the 'Nord Streams'?
In the end, however, the money was provided by "a private individual from Ukraine," who covered most of the expenses for the operation, which amounted to about $300,000.
In response to Der Spiegel's inquiry, the CIA stated that the journalistic investigation is "extremely inaccurate" and cannot be relied upon as factual information. In 2022, the U.S. wanted to support Ukraine as much as possible. Why would they approve a terrorist act against the infrastructure of their ally, the American intelligence agency questioned.
Meanwhile, investigations by other media, including The New Yorker, also suggest that the Ukrainians at least informed the U.S. of their plans, Der Spiegel reports.
