(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Government officials released a report on new intelligence information claiming that a pro-Ukranian group was behind the Nord Stream pipeline attack, an act of sabotage that some analysts have said America perpetrated.
Officials said there is no indication whether or not Ukranian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy or any other high-ranking Ukrainian officials had a hand in the incident. However, many see the pipeline as a national security threat, as it allows Moscow to sell gas more easily to European nations.
According to The New York Times, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby released a statement to the press pushing off questions to other countries performing.
“Several of our European partners—in fact three off them: Germany, Sweden and Denmark—have already opened investigations into what happened with the Nord Stream II Pipeline and those investigations are not closed,” Kirby stated. “They are still hard at work on that. So, I’m just not going to get ahead of that investigative work and I would have to refer you to each of those European countries to comment on their investigations.”
The new intelligence does not reveal any suspects, but did admit that they are likely enemies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
U.S. officials are “leaving open the possibility that the operation might have been conducted off the books by a proxy force with connections to the Ukrainian government or its security services,” but they have “no firm conclusions” about the attack.
The attackers were likely “experienced divers who did not appear to be working for the military or intelligence services,” and “it is possible that the perpetrators received specialized government training in the past.”
The Biden administration prematurely hinted at some involvement in the attack, and some officials even openly celebrated after the event.
The possibility of Ukrainian involvement in the attack may upset their relationship with Germany, “souring support among a German public that has swallowed high energy prices in the name of solidarity.”
