American intelligence officials attribute the attack on the North Stream to pro-Ukrainians

Russia first blamed the British and then the Americans. For the United States, the first suspect was Moscow, in an operation that would be more spectacle than logic. Now, according to US administration officials with access to new intelligence, the trail points to a “pro-Ukrainian” groups That would is behind the sabotage of the North Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines.

The new information shows, according to the sources he consulted The New York Times, that the opponents of Vladimir Putin are responsible. They emphasize that there is no way to guarantee the identity of the culprits. They could be Ukrainians, they say, but also Russians. They specifically confirm that none of those involved had American or British citizenship, as claimed by the Kremlin.

Available information offers no evidence that the attack is in any way connected to the Ukrainian government and intelligence services. There is nothing to prove that Volodymyr Zelensky’s team was aware of the sabotage or participated in its organization. However, it still cannot be ruled out. This was previously said by the German and Swedish authorities who are investigating the event the attack was “probably” supported by some “state actor”given its sophistication.

The White House and US intelligence services point out that the Biden administration’s confidence in its Ukrainian allies has grown in recent months. However, the Ukrainian government and intelligence services did not always keep the US in the loop. This was the case with the attack that killed the daughter of Russian neo-fascist ideologue Alexander Dugin, Daria Dugin, when a bomb exploded under her car in August 2022, a month before the Nord Stream blasts. In the US, they believe that the attack was authorized by someone from Zelenskyi’s government, despite Kiev’s denial.

The underwater explosion that ruptured three pipes of the North Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines occurred on September 26. Josep Borrell, the highest representative of European diplomacy, said at the time that the sabotage that took place in the Baltic Sea was a “deliberate act”. According to estimates, repair of the north flow after sabotage could cost $500 million per pipeline.

The Nord Stream project was born in the late 90s with the participation of the Russian gas company Gazprom. In the international sphere, it was received with reluctance, both because of the possibility that Russia could bypass the transit countries of other gas connections in Eastern Europe, and because of the increase in German energy dependence that it could cause. Despite this, Nord Stream 1 began operations in 2011 following an inauguration attended by then German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The second gas link, Nord Stream 2, never became operational; Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz blocked his certification after Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk regions became official on February 22, 2022. Two days later, Russian troops invaded Ukraine.