NYT: pro-Ukrainian group could have blown up Nord Stream

New US intelligence data suggests that the Nord Stream bombing was carried out by a pro-Ukrainian group. About it writes newspaper The New York Times, citing American officials who studied the intelligence.

At the same time, Washington has no evidence that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, his aides, or any other Ukrainian officials were involved in the incident.

According to intelligence data, those responsible for blowing up the pipelines were opponents of the policy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the newspaper notes. At the same time, American intelligence agencies failed to identify those who led the operation. It is emphasized that evidence pointing to Moscow’s involvement in the incident was also not found.

NYT sources who studied the intelligence concluded that the sabotage could have been carried out by citizens of Ukraine or Russia. US officials clarified that, according to their information, no British or US citizens were involved in the incident.

The interlocutors of the newspaper said that the explosives could have been planted by experienced divers who are not connected with the military and intelligence services. At the same time, they did not rule out that the perpetrators could have undergone special training. US officials noted that despite the new intelligence, there are still huge data gaps about what happened to the gas pipelines, writes NYT.

The Nord Stream incident occurred on the night of September 26, 2022. Pressure dropped in both pipelines. Two subsequently discovered leaks were in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Sweden, and two more were in the Danish EEZ.

February 8 journalist Seymour Hersh published investigation of the Nord Stream incident, in which he accused the United States and Norway of being involved in the bombing. The White House and the European Commission called this information unreliable.

In the Kremlin declared about the unwillingness of the West to transparently investigate the Nord Stream case. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in India on March 2 urged to conduct an “honest and prompt” investigation into the Nord Stream bombing. He stressed that Russia should participate in the proceedings. Lavrov the next day declaredthat Russia will not allow the West to attack gas pipelines again.