What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
Attack on civilian infrastructure qualifies as “war crime” and the perpetrators could be jailed by the court
NEW DELHI: The Biden administration was aware of Ukraine’s plan of attacking the Nord Stream pipelines three months before an underwater explosion crippled the natural gas link between Russia and Germany.
As per a Washington Post report, a European intelligence service informed America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that the Ukrainian military was preparing for an attack utilizing a small team of divers who reported directly to the commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
The intention was to keep President Volodymyr Zelenskiy unaware of the operation, said the report which is based on leaked secret documents initially shared by US airman Jack Teixeira on chat platform Discord.
The documents originated from a European intelligence agency, then were shared with the US and Germany, and subsequently corroborated by security officials from multiple countries.
The responsibility for the attacks in September on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, remains disputed. While many European governments suspect Russia, President Vladimir Putin has accused the US and its allies. Ukraine vehemently denies any involvement in the attacks.
ALSO READ: Nord Stream Blasts Opens Up Several Fault Lines Within The West
If the intelligence is accurate, it would provide insights into one of the most obscure incidents of the ongoing 15-month-long Russia-Ukraine war.
Since the beginning of the war, the US and its foreign allies have provided Ukraine with weapons and support – including Germany which was the biggest beneficiary of the Nord Stream pipelines.
Though the US officially maintains that these resources are meant to liberate Ukrainian territory, experts have emphasized that they are often aware of Kyiv’s acts that could amount to war crimes.
ALSO READ: Russia ‘buying back’ military supplies from India, Myanmar: Report
Notably, the US had publicly voiced its opposition to the Nord Stream 2 project, pressuring Germany to halt its final authorization shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The intelligence report shared with the CIA was drafted in June 2022. It described a plot resembling the one currently being examined by German investigators: six individuals, using false identities, sailed a small boat into the Baltic Sea and planted explosives that severed the pipeline, relying on diving equipment, including helium supplies for deep dives.
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