Western intelligence agencies almost immediately determined that last year’s Nord Stream blasts had been orchestrated by a person with ties to Ukraine, but chose to conceal this information in order to avoid a diplomatic row between Kiev and Berlin, The Times reported on Wednesday.
According to the outlet, a Scandinavian delegation learned a week after the September 2022 attack on the gas pipelines, which connect Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea, that it was staged “by a private venture originating in Ukraine.” They reportedly received this information at an intelligence briefing in Brussels.
“The name of the suspected private sponsor [of the attack]… has been circulating in intelligence circles for months but not revealed,” the report said.
Without publishing any names, The Times identified the culprit as a Ukrainian not affiliated with the government in Kiev. It also alleged that the suspect “appears to have left a peculiar calling card,” without elaborating.