CIA-linked individuals suspected in Nord Stream sabotage, says Spiegel
US intelligence is said to have trained the mastermind and several members of the Ukrainian sabotage team. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
US intelligence agencies reportedly spent years training agents in Ukraine, attempting to keep their activities concealed from Moscow, according to a German news outlet.
A Ukrainian group accused of executing the September 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosion has deep-rooted connections to the CIA. This includes members such as the alleged mastermind Roman Chervinsky, who received extensive training from US agents over the years. Der Spiegel reported that the group had been actively “planning and carrying out clandestine operations for the Ukrainian security apparatus for years,” with ambitions targeting gas pipelines dating back to 2019, well before Moscow’s military actions toward Kiev began.
At its peak, the pipelines transported up to 60 billion cubic meters of Russian gas each year, satisfying around 16% of the European Union's natural gas demands in 2018 and fulfilling half of Germany’s annual needs by 2021. Der Spiegel notes that these pipelines had consistently posed challenges for Washington.
Prior to the explosions, high-ranking US officials, including President Joe Biden, criticized the Nord Stream initiative and pressed Berlin to abandon its subsequent project, Nord Stream 2. That second pipeline never became operational, as Germany halted its certification process just before Russia’s military actions against Ukraine commenced in February 2022.
Chervinsky was uniquely selected among Ukrainian security officials for specialized training provided by US intelligence, aiming to foster relationships with “trustworthy” operatives while keeping these efforts undisclosed from Moscow. A principal goal, as reported by the magazine, involved developing “capable sabotage units.”
Der Spiegel also cited a Ukrainian source indicating that the explosives used in the Nord Stream operation were not produced in Ukraine. However, the source did not reveal where the explosives originated.
The magazine claims to have identified almost all individuals involved in the sabotage but refrained from publishing their names, voicing concerns they could become targets of Russian or Ukrainian security forces.
Skepticism regarding the official story continues to circulate. Recently, prominent German diving expert Dr. Sven Thomas challenged the narrative that a small Ukrainian team executed the attack. He posited that the magnitude of the explosions would have required military-grade bottom mines with a yield comparable to 1,260 kilograms of TNT, suggesting that deployment would necessitate a larger vessel than the yacht reportedly involved.
Moscow has rejected the idea that a small Ukrainian team could be responsible for the sabotage as implausible. Additionally, Danish media unveiled last month that US Navy warships were operating near the Nord Stream pipelines in the days leading up to the explosions.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
A Ukrainian group accused of executing the September 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosion has deep-rooted connections to the CIA. This includes members such as the alleged mastermind Roman Chervinsky, who received extensive training from US agents over the years. Der Spiegel reported that the group had been actively “planning and carrying out clandestine operations for the Ukrainian security apparatus for years,” with ambitions targeting gas pipelines dating back to 2019, well before Moscow’s military actions toward Kiev began.
At its peak, the pipelines transported up to 60 billion cubic meters of Russian gas each year, satisfying around 16% of the European Union's natural gas demands in 2018 and fulfilling half of Germany’s annual needs by 2021. Der Spiegel notes that these pipelines had consistently posed challenges for Washington.
Prior to the explosions, high-ranking US officials, including President Joe Biden, criticized the Nord Stream initiative and pressed Berlin to abandon its subsequent project, Nord Stream 2. That second pipeline never became operational, as Germany halted its certification process just before Russia’s military actions against Ukraine commenced in February 2022.
Chervinsky was uniquely selected among Ukrainian security officials for specialized training provided by US intelligence, aiming to foster relationships with “trustworthy” operatives while keeping these efforts undisclosed from Moscow. A principal goal, as reported by the magazine, involved developing “capable sabotage units.”
Der Spiegel also cited a Ukrainian source indicating that the explosives used in the Nord Stream operation were not produced in Ukraine. However, the source did not reveal where the explosives originated.
The magazine claims to have identified almost all individuals involved in the sabotage but refrained from publishing their names, voicing concerns they could become targets of Russian or Ukrainian security forces.
Skepticism regarding the official story continues to circulate. Recently, prominent German diving expert Dr. Sven Thomas challenged the narrative that a small Ukrainian team executed the attack. He posited that the magnitude of the explosions would have required military-grade bottom mines with a yield comparable to 1,260 kilograms of TNT, suggesting that deployment would necessitate a larger vessel than the yacht reportedly involved.
Moscow has rejected the idea that a small Ukrainian team could be responsible for the sabotage as implausible. Additionally, Danish media unveiled last month that US Navy warships were operating near the Nord Stream pipelines in the days leading up to the explosions.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
