New intelligence reporting amounts to the first significant known lead about who was responsible for the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines that carried natural gas from Russia to Europe.
The key word is “suggests”
WASHINGTON — New intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, a step toward determining responsibility for an act of sabotage that has confounded investigators on both sides of the Atlantic for months.
U.S. officials said that they had no evidence President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine or his top lieutenants were involved in the operation, or that the perpetrators were acting at the direction of any Ukrainian government officials.
The brazen attack on the natural gas pipelines, which link Russia to Western Europe, fueled public speculation about who was to blame, from Moscow to Kyiv and London to Washington, and it has remained one of the most consequential unsolved mysteries of Russia’s year-old war in Ukraine.
Ukraine and its allies have been seen by some officials as having the most logical potential motive to attack the pipelines. They have opposed the project for years, calling it a national security threat because it would allow Russia to sell gas more easily to Europe. Ukrainian government and military intelligence officials say they had no role in the attack and do not know who carried it out.
The sabotage of the pipelines has been one of those things that have had a lot of people guessing who was behind it, with competing theories as contradictory as supposing Russia did it to pressure Europe and send it into a recession versus Biden and Norway did it to cripple Russia.
The report by Adam Entous, Julian E. Barnes, and Adam Goldman is a lot of rehashing of the history of the pipelines, the assorted conspiracy theories, and heavily qualified statements with little actual detail.
Officials said there were still enormous gaps in what U.S. spy agencies and their European partners knew about what transpired. But officials said it might constitute the first significant lead to emerge from several closely guarded investigations, the conclusions of which could have profound implications for the coalition supporting Ukraine.
Any suggestion of Ukrainian involvement, whether direct or indirect, could upset the delicate relationship between Ukraine and Germany, souring support among a German public that has swallowed high energy prices in the name of solidarity.
U.S. officials who have been briefed on the intelligence are divided about how much weight to put on the new information. All of them spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss classified intelligence and matters of sensitive diplomacy.
U.S. officials said the new intelligence reporting has increased their optimism that American spy agencies and their partners in Europe can find more information, which could allow them to reach a firm conclusion about the perpetrators. It is unclear how long that process will take. American officials recently discussed the intelligence with their European counterparts, who have taken the lead in investigating the attack.
emphasis added
Frankly, there is a lot about the reporting on this ‘story’ that is highly suspect, and not much “there” there given the weasel-wording about what ‘might’ be revealed.
I am not sure I see why The NY Times is considering what is highly speculative is really “breaking” news — more like broken news.
My own suspicions “suggest” The NY Times was so eager for a scoop on this to prove they’re not the leftist liberal lying rag the rightwing says they are, that they pounced on a questionable story. It might well have been floated by unknown persons in the intelligence community looking to disrupt support for Ukraine and disrupt Germany’s cooperation in providing aid.
Given that the right wing is trying to cut back and end US support for Ukraine, it’s possible that rogue conservative elements in the intelligence community are spreading disinformation in pursuit of those aims — and to weaken Biden. Given The NY Times own record of gullibility, it’s not hard to believe this is one more time they’re being led around by a ring in their nose.
But that’s just my opinion.
It’s worth remembering that the pipelines were sabotaged months after Russia invaded Ukraine. This forced Germany to make a rapid shift away from Russian fossil fuel supplies, cut off payments to Russia for the natural gas, and made Europe less susceptible to energy blackmail.
Is this such a bad thing? It seems a little odd to be making a big deal out of this whoever did it, while all kinds of war crimes are being carried out in Ukraine.
What do you think?