Dutch military intelligence warned the CIA of a Ukrainian plan to blow up the Nord Stream gas pipeline three months ago, with explosions damaging the offshore network, news reports said Tuesday.
US intelligence warning to Kiev
The CIA urged Kiev not to proceed with the operation, according to Dutch public broadcaster NOS, in cooperation with German broadcaster ARD and the weekly Die Zeit.
The CIA warned Ukraine “after it received a disturbing report from the Dutch military intelligence services, which learned of the plan from a Ukrainian source,” according to NOS.
The Washington Post reported last week that a European intelligence agency had informed the CIA of the Ukrainian plan before, but it did not specify which country was responsible.
The Netherlands Defense Minister refuses to comment
Dutch Defense Minister Kaisa Olungren declined to comment when asked about the reports.
“I cannot comment on the work of our intelligence services,” she told reporters at a press conference in Amsterdam, adding that the incident was being investigated by Germany, Sweden and Denmark.
It is noteworthy that explosions rocked the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, designed to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany, on September 26.
The Netherlands was one of the countries that owned a stake in Nord Stream, along with Russia, France and Germany.
Accusations of several countries
Several countries, including Russia, the United States and Ukraine, were accused, but all of them denied any responsibility for the operation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again denied any connection to Kiev.
“NOS” stated that the plan, which is suspected to have been discovered by Dutch intelligence, was supervised by the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army, Valery Zaluzhny, and involved a small team of divers using a sailboat, but without Zelensky’s knowledge.
I saw the plan
It also reported that, in addition to the German media, NOS spoke to several international intelligence sources who were aware that the Dutch military intelligence services had been briefed on the plan.
The Washington Post reported that documents leaked by a computer expert who holds a low-level position in the Air National Guard indicated that a European intelligence service had informed the CIA of the plan in June 2022.
Meanwhile, German investigators are looking into evidence that Poland was used as a base to complete the operation, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
