According to the German magazine Der Spiegel, the CIA was aware of Ukraine’s plans to sabotage the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Citing sources, the publication claims that the operation was led by Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
As Der Spiegel reports, in the spring of 2022 in Kyiv, Ukrainian sabotage specialists met with familiar CIA officers and laid out the concept of an attack on the pipelines. According to the sources, the American side reacted positively. “They told our guys: this is good, this works,” said a person familiar with the talks.
Later, according to the publication, CIA representatives again contacted the organizers of the operation and discussed its technical aspects. At one of the meetings, the Americans allegedly gave a signal to “go ahead,” and the Ukrainian side was left with the impression that financial support from the United States might also be possible.
However, Washington’s position later shifted. American officials warned Kyiv against carrying out the plan, but, Der Spiegel claims, to no avail. The CIA itself described the account presented to the magazine as “absolutely false.”
Der Spiegel, for its part, allows that CIA officers may have shown interest during the meetings solely to gather information, creating the appearance of support. It also does not rule out the possibility that details of the planned sabotage reached senior American decision-makers with a delay, and that at that level the idea met with outright rejection.
In June 2022, according to the magazine, information about the planned operation became known to the Netherlands and Germany, which then notified the United States. In Berlin, the reports were treated with skepticism, as the alleged timeframe for preparing the attack had already elapsed.
A representative of the CIA’s Kyiv office reportedly appealed to the Ukrainian president’s administration, urging that the operation be called off. At the same time, according to Der Spiegel, the decision was approved by Valerii Zaluzhnyi, while Volodymyr Zelenskyy was unaware of it.
Despite the warnings, the pipeline was blown up without U.S. consent—at least as the German magazine presents the situation. Funding for the operation, it is claimed, was provided by a private sponsor from Ukraine, who paid around $300,000.
Earlier, two Ukrainian nationals were arrested in Europe on suspicion of involvement in the sabotage of the pipeline. Ukraine denies the allegations.