The CIA told Ukraine last summer not to attack the Nord Stream pipelines
The Central Intelligence Agency told Ukrainian officials last summer that it had learned of what it believed was a failed plot by the Ukrainians to attack the Nord Stream pipelines, and the agency strengthened its objection to such an operation.
According to US and European officials, Dutch intelligence officials shared information with the CIA in June 2022 that they had learned that the Ukrainian military had planned an operation that would deploy divers to blow up one of the pipelines. But the original tip from the Dutch, according to a US official, was that Ukraine had already reconsidered and canceled the operation.
In reality, US officials now believe, the operation was not aborted but postponed, possibly with another Ukraine-aligned group carrying out the attack.
Explosions in September destroyed parts of the pipelines that carry natural gas from Russia to Europe. The Ukrainian government denied responsibility for the attack.
But German investigators later learned that a group of Ukrainians had rented a boat, loaded it with explosives and attacked the pipeline. US intelligence agencies now believe the operation was at least carried out under the loose leadership of the Ukrainian government, but they do not know who exactly planned the operation.
The information about the CIA alert to Ukraine, and that it was Dutch intelligence officials who provided the original intelligence, was previously reported by the German news channel Die Zeit and NOS, the Dutch national broadcaster.
It is unclear which US official delivered the message about the pipeline attack in Ukraine. However, it was not delivered by senior officials because the United States already believed Kiev had reconsidered the wisdom of the attack, the US official said. It was also not clear how the Ukrainians reacted to the message from the Americans.
The original alert, collected by Dutch intelligence, contained details similar to the last operation, but also differed on several key points, the European official said. The original intelligence said Ukraine planned to attack Nord Stream 1, while the actual attack targeted both the older pipelines and the just-completed set known as Nord Stream 2.
Dutch intelligence also reported that the plan would involve the use of fake Estonian passports, the European official said. At least some members of the group believed by European investigators to have carried out the attack used false Bulgarian passports.
The original plan also included using Ukrainian special forces personnel to hire a submarine and a boat to attack the pipelines, near a spot popular with divers, the European official said.
The CIA could not confirm the information the Dutch provided last summer, but nevertheless warned the German government that the pipelines could be attacked and then discussed the matter with Ukrainian officials.