United States authorities have seen new intelligence that indicates a pro-Ukrainian group was responsible for the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2015, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.In a careful report that did not identify the source of the intelligence or the group included, the Times stated the United States officials had no proof implicating Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in the pipeline bombing.But the attack benefitted Ukraine as it left Russia unable to earn millions from the sale of natural gas to Western Europe.
At the same time, the attack added to the pressure of high energy rates on key Ukrainian allies in Western Europe, especially Germany.The intelligence suggested the wrongdoers behind the sabotage were opponents of President Vladimir V.
Putin of Russia, the Times report said.But the United States authorities had no indicator of who took part and who arranged and spent for the operation, which would have needed experienced scuba divers and dynamites experts.They believed those included were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, which none were from the United States or Britain.United States officials have no company conclusions about the intelligence, exposing 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, the Times said.The pipelines were ruptured by subsea explosives on Sept.
26, seven months after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.Several countries were stated at the time to have motives for the action: Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Britain and the United States.In February, experienced United States investigative reporter Seymour Hersh reported that the United States had been behind the operation to bomb the Nord Stream pipelines and that Norway assisted.The White House blasted Hershs report, which pointed out an unnamed source, as complete fiction.