CIA knew about Kiev plot to blow up Nord Stream – Der Spiegel
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) discussed the plan to blow up the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea with Ukrainian saboteurs, German outlet Der Spiegel has reported, citing sources in Kiev.
The government in Berlin has attributed the September 2022 explosions that crippled the key energy conduits built to deliver Russian gas to Germany to a small group of Ukrainian operatives. Moscow has repeatedly expressed deep skepticism over the German version of events, arguing that such an operation in NATO-controlled waters could not have been executed without direct government assistance.
The Ukrainians told CIA agents about the plot to destroy Nord Stream in spring 2022, the outlet said in an article on Thursday. The conversation took place at a meeting in Kiev shortly after the escalation between Russia and Ukraine, it added.
At the time, the Americans “apparently liked the plan,” the Ukrainian sources told Der Spiegel.
According to the article, there were several more meetings between the Ukrainians and the CIA, during which the two sides exchanged technical details about the operation, code-named ‘Diameter’.
At one of them the US agents “told our boys: ‘that’s good, that’s fine’” about the plan to target the pipelines, a person familiar with the conversations claimed.
There was an impression on the Ukrainian side that the CIA was even ready to finance the attack on Nord Stream, the sources said.
However, in early summer 2022, the Americans changed their stance, saying that they could not support the operation and would not provide money for its execution, according to the report.
Der Spiegel claimed that Washington then actively tried to prevent the sabotage of the pipelines, but the Ukrainians went ahead with the plan anyway.
