The German magazine Der Spiegel, citing its own sources, stated that the US Central Intelligence Agency was allegedly aware of Ukraine's plans to blow up the Nord Stream gas pipelines. According to the publication, the operation was led by the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valeriy Zaluzhny.
According to Der Spiegel, in the spring of 2022, Ukrainian sabotage experts met with CIA acquaintances in Kyiv and informed them of the intention to blow up the gas pipelines. The magazine's source claims that initially the American representatives supposedly positively assessed the plan and even discussed the technical details of its implementation.
During the next meeting, the publication writes, the Ukrainian side could have given the impression that the US did not object to the implementation of the plan and could potentially contribute to financing. However, later, Washington's position, according to the magazine's sources, changed. The American side allegedly warned Kyiv about the inadmissibility of carrying out such an operation.
The CIA called the information provided by Der Spiegel “absolutely false.” At the same time, the magazine suggests that American agents could have shown interest solely for the purpose of gathering intelligence. It is also possible that information about the discussion of the plans could have reached the US political leadership with a delay, which did not support the idea.
The article also states that in June 2022, information about the possible preparation of sabotage became known to the Netherlands and Germany, which warned the United States. The German side was initially skeptical of this information, since the specified deadlines had already passed.
According to Der Spiegel, a CIA representative from the Kyiv office allegedly contacted representatives of the Office of the President of Ukraine, demanding that the operation be canceled. At the same time, the magazine claims that the decision to carry out the sabotage may have been made without the knowledge of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Despite warnings, the gas pipelines were blown up anyway. The publication also notes that the operation, according to its data, could have been financed by a private Ukrainian source, which allocated about $300,000.
We will remind, earlier in Europe two Ukrainian citizens were detained, suspected of involvement in the gas pipeline explosion. The Ukrainian side denies these accusations. There is currently no official confirmation of the version published by Der Spiegel.
