Dutch military intelligence alerted the CIA to a Ukrainian plot to blow up the Nord Stream pipeline three months before the explosions damaged the submarine system, it was revealed on Tuesday.
After that warning, the American espionage service asked Kiev not to continue the operation, NOS reports, in collaboration with the German broadcaster ARD and the German newspaper Die Zeit.
The CIA warned Ukraine “after receiving an alarming report from the Dutch Military Intelligence Service (MIVD), which was aware of the plans through a Ukrainian source,” NOS said.
The Washington Post reported last week that the CIA had been tipped off about the Ukrainian plans by a European spy agency, but had not disclosed which country the agency was from.
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren declined to comment when asked about the reports. “I cannot comment on the work of our intelligence services,” he said in Amsterdam on Tuesday, adding that the incident is being investigated by Germany, Sweden and Denmark.
The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, built to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany, were rocked by underwater explosions on September 26. The Netherlands was also an important stakeholder in Nord Stream, along with Russia, France and Germany.
Allegations were made against several countries, including Russia, the United States and Ukraine, but all denied responsibility. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again denied Kiev’s involvement earlier this month.
The plan, reportedly intercepted by Dutch intelligence, said Ukrainian general Valerii Zaluzhnyi was in charge of the operation, which involved a small team of divers and the use of a sailboat. Zelensky was not aware of the operation, according to NOS.
The Washington Post said documents released by a US Air National Guard computer technician indicated that an unnamed European spy agency notified the US Central Intelligence Agency of the plan in June 2022.
Meanwhile, German detectives are investigating allegations that Poland was used as a base for the operation, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
Source: DN
