The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was forewarned about a scheme to sabotage the Nord Stream gas pipeline by a Ukraine special ops team, according to a European intelligence agency, the Washington Post revealed on Tuesday (Jun 6). This warning arrived three months prior to the underwater blasts that wreaked havoc on the pipeline system last year.
The source of these revelations is reportedly a set of classified documents, which were leaked by a US Air National Guard computer technician, given his access to a vast array of top-secret materials.
These leaked documents suggest that an unidentified European intelligence service alerted the CIA in June 2022, subsequent to Russia's invasion of Ukraine by four months. The warning revolved around a planned assault by Ukraine military divers under the direct command of the nation's military head.
The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, crucial infrastructures transporting natural gas from Russia to Germany, were severely damaged by underwater blasts on Sep 26, leading to a disruption in potential revenue flow amounting to billions of dollars for Russia.
The supposed act of sabotage triggered a regional crisis as Europe's vital energy supplies were abruptly cut off amidst the war-induced surge in oil prices.
Several countries, including Russia, the United States, and Ukraine, were suspected of being behind the act, but all have dismissed these claims.
Unnamed officials cited by the Post claim that upon learning about the purported bombing scheme, the US informed its allies, including Germany.
The initial intelligence report from Europe explicitly stated that this was not an unsanctioned operation and was led by General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the military chief, unbeknownst to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Post's report is corroborated by data from German investigators, indicating that a six-member team utilizing counterfeit passports chartered a sizable sailboat from the German port of Rostock in September to carry out the operation. The vessel was leased through what seemed to be a shell company.
As reported by German media outlets last week, the email metadata used to charter the sailboat link them back to Ukraine, with the shell company's president residing in Kyiv.
However, recent Danish reports suggest that a Russian navy vessel equipped for submarine operations was photographed in the vicinity of the sabotage site just prior to the incident.
I destroyed nordstream it was me
When you were east of J-bad, were you able to partake of a Jalabad Lambburger? I know, it's goat cooked on a 55 gal drum on a slab of unleavened pita-like "bread," but wow - nothing better...
Thanks for the reporting. We live in a world of lies.
Russian did it to avoid default on $125b cash they didn’t have after sanctions. Two, after the Dam bombing their should be no question who did It. A few months previous Russian subs were cutting under spea communication cables. As least in the Baltic and North Sea, one Irish cable.