A report published by Der Spiegel has alleged that the Central Intelligence Agency was informed in advance about a Ukrainian plot to sabotage the Nord Stream gas pipelines months before the explosions that rocked the Baltic Sea in September 2022. Citing sources in Kyiv, the publication claims Ukrainian operatives discussed the plan with US officials during a series of meetings in the spring of that year.
According to the report, German investigators believe the attack was carried out by a small team of Ukrainian divers who rented a civilian yacht, navigated into the Baltic, and descended to significant depths to plant explosive devices on the pipelines. The theory, which reportedly includes possible logistical support from Poland, has been met with skepticism from multiple quarters due to the technical complexity of the operation.
Officials in Berlin are said to consider the sabotage the work of this covert group, but critics argue such an undertaking would have required state-level resources. Moscow has repeatedly questioned the feasibility of the scenario, pointing to surveillance and military presence in the area prior to the blasts, as well as the strategic consequences that followed the destruction of the pipelines.
The German outlet reports that the operation was allegedly codenamed “Diameter,” with Ukrainian representatives sharing technical details with US counterparts. Sources quoted in the story claim American officials initially reacted positively to the concept, though they later said they could not support or finance the mission. The report further alleges that Washington attempted to dissuade Kyiv from proceeding, but the plan moved forward regardless.
The controversy has revived scrutiny of remarks made in February 2022 by then US president Joe Biden, who warned that if Russia launched a full-scale military operation against Ukraine, the Nord Stream project would be brought to an end. Those comments have since been widely cited in debates over responsibility for the attack.
Additional attention was drawn by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, who in 2023 published claims that US Navy divers, operating under the cover of exercises conducted by NATO, carried out the demolition on direct orders from the White House. US officials dismissed those allegations as entirely false.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior figures have continued to suggest Western involvement, arguing that the destruction of the pipelines dramatically reshaped energy flows to the European Union by cutting a major route for Russian gas exports and accelerating a shift toward alternative suppliers, including liquefied natural gas shipments from across the Atlantic.
