US knew of Ukrainian plan to blow up Nord Stream three months before blasts: Report

The US knew of a Ukrainian plan to attack the Nord Stream pipelines as early as three months before underwater explosions damaged them, claimed the Washington Post in a report. The news outlet cited leaked information posted online. The report said that America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) learned in June last year that a Ukrainian special operations force consisting of six people intended to blow up the pipelines.

Nord Stream pipelines carry natural gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea. In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the pipelines and the subsequent explosions had assumed great political importance.

The intelligence cited by the Washington Post was reportedly shared on chat platform Discord, allegedly by Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira, who was arrested for the leak of classified documents.

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Teixeira was recently charged for leaking sensitive US documents. The Post said that it got a copy from one of Teixeira's online friends. The intelligence report was based on information obtained from an individual in Ukraine. The newspaper said that the CIA shared it with Germany and other European countries in June 2022.

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The Post said officials in multiple countries had confirmed that the intelligence summary posted on Discord accurately stated what the European service told the CIA.

The report in the Washington Post said that the newspaper was withholding the name of the European intelligence agency as well as some aspects of the alleged plan after a request from government officials.

Reuters said that the CIA and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Nord Stream 1 and the newly built Nord Stream 2 pipelines were ruptured after several undersea explosions took place last year in September. The explosions occurred in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark.

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Both nations have said that the explosions were deliberate. However, it is yet to be clearly determined who was responsible. The two countries are investigating the incident along with Germany.

The situation last year

Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. As the Western countries led by the US imposed harsh economic sanctions on Russia, the latter responded by leveraging its position as the major energy supplier of Europe. Russia even halted energy supplies, partially in some cases, which sent fuel prices skywards globally. It was feared that Europe and particularly Ukraine would face extremely harsh conditions due to energy shortage and approaching winter in the latter part of the year.

The explosions rupturing Nord Stream pipelines hence came into quick international focus and both sides accused the other of doing the deed in order to play politics over it.

(With inputs from agencies)

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