US intelligence now says a pro-Ukrainian group sabotaged the Nord Stream pipeline

A pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, US intelligence officials found on Tuesday.

US officials told the New York Times there was no evidence that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or his top officials were involved in the September 2022 bombings, or that the group acted at the behest of the Ukrainian government.

The Nord Stream natural gas pipelines connect Russia with Western Europe and provide Moscow with a direct route for its lucrative natural gas business. The surprise attack damaged two of the pipelines – Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 – in the Danish part of the Baltic Sea.

In the outcry that followed, almost every government was blamed: Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Britain and the United States.

Western allies blamed Russia, Moscow blamed the US and Britain. US officials said no US or British citizens were involved.

White House spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on the report, saying Germany, Denmark and Sweden were still investigating the explosion, which he called “sabotage.”

Three investigations are currently underway. And they are not ready. As far as I know, none of these three countries have expressed their opinion publicly,” he told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday.

Last month, the White House denied a report that US Navy divers planted remote-controlled explosive devices that destroyed parts of the pipeline.

Moscow pointed the finger at the US over a statement by President Biden in early February 2022 – before Russia invaded Ukraine – that Nord Stream would “end” if Russian troops and tanks invaded the neighboring country.

Now US intelligence officials believe the real perpetrators were opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But officials did not say which group was behind the attack, who led it or who paid for it.

Officials also stressed that their conclusions are not 100% accurate, leaving open the possibility that the operation was carried out by an agent linked to the Ukrainian government or its security services, The Times reported.

All four leaks are in the Baltic Sea off the Danish island of Bornholm. Two of the leaks were in the Swedish exclusive economic zone and the other two in the Danish one

This handout photo, released by the Danish Defense Command on September 30, 2022 and taken on September 29, 2022, shows one of four gas leaks from one of the damaged Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea

The pipeline leads from Russia into the sea and then to Germany

The installation in Lumbin, Germany, where the Nord Stream pipeline lands again

Ukraine has long opposed the pipeline, which would easily bring Russian gas to European customers. Russia is one of the top three oil producers in the world. Moscow is heavily dependent on oil and natural gas revenues, which accounted for 45% of Russia’s federal budget in 2021.

At the time of the attack, the US called it sabotage.

The advanced attack took place underwater near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.

Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, as the two pipelines are called, stretch 760 miles from the northwestern coast of Russia to Lubmin in northeastern Germany.

The first cost more than $12 billion to build and was completed in 2011. The construction lasted 15 years.

US officials said they did not believe the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy was involved

Both Swedish and Danish authorities have investigated the four holes punched by underwater attacks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines.

While the leaks were in international waters, two were in the Danish exclusive economic zone and two in Sweden.

The pipelines have been at the center of geopolitical tensions as Russia cut off gas supplies to Europe in alleged retaliation for Western sanctions following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Although the pipelines were not operational, they contained gas before falling victim to the apparent sabotage.