U.S. warned Ukraine not to attack Nord Stream pipeline

The CIA warned the Ukrainian government last summer not to attack the Nord Stream gas pipeline, officials familiar with the matter said. Dutch military intelligence officials have previously told the CIA that a Ukrainian sabotage team intends to rent a yacht on the Baltic coast and use a team of divers to plant explosives on four of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. CIA officials questioned their counterparts in Kiev, and it was unclear how the Ukrainians responded. However, the CIA subsequently received word that Ukraine had canceled the original plan, according to a U.S. official. But over the next month, a series of underwater explosions damaged three of Nord Stream’s four main pipelines. In this regard, Ukrainian military intelligence agency spokesman Chernyak denied that Ukraine had anything to do with the Nord Stream bombing. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with German media: “I believe that our military and intelligence services did not do this. If someone makes a statement to the contrary, I hope they will show us the evidence.”