Spiegel reported long-standing CIA ties to some of the JVP saboteurs

The Nord Stream gas pipeline was blown up by a group of Ukrainians, some of whom had connections with the CIA in the past, and the cost of the entire operation was up to $300,000, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported on November 20, citing sources.

According to the publication, the group involved in the undermining of the "Nord Streams", there were about 12 people, including one woman. The composition included both military and civilians. According to some participants in the attack, they had ties to the CIA in the past, and the operation, codenamed "Diameter," was approved by the then commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU), Valeriy Zaluzhny.

Der Spiegel quoted an ex-employee of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), who had been transferred to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), as saying that one of the organizers of the explosion asked a familiar expert for advice. The specialist advised to use a compressed air cylinder for divers as a bomb for the explosion and place it at the junction of pipes, where the protection is the least strong.

At the same time, the former AFU commander-in-chief was interested in the question of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (his term of office expired on May 20) being aware of the operation being prepared. According to one of the executors, Zelensky did not know about anything, as the group did not trust the president and his entourage.

In turn, the FRG Cabinet of Ministers commented on the publication of Der Spiegel. In the government indicated that they took note of the new data on the undermining of the "Nord Streams", but did not comment.

"The FRG government has taken note of these reports. The government does not comment on this issue in light of the ongoing investigation," German cabinet spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann told reporters at a briefing. Her words are quoted by TASS.

She also recalled that the investigation into the sabotage is being handled by the German Prosecutor General's Office.

The article also points out that Valery Zaluzhny proposed in addition to the gas pipelines "Nord Stream" and "Nord Stream - 2" to blow up and" Turkish Stream" in the Black Sea, but the operation failed.

Earlier, on September 25, the German government confirmed that several arrest warrants had been issued in the investigation into the Nord Stream bombings. Before that, in the same month, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the country would make every effort to investigate and called for the investigation to be conducted in an unbiased manner. The Kremlin agreed with the call, but Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed to the importance of information sharing instead of leaks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recalled the Kiev regime's attempts to strike gas pipelines in the Black Sea as early as June 2024 and as late as September 2023. In particular, Ukraine's attempt to undermine "Turkish Stream" took place in October 2022.

In turn, leaks on the "Nord Streams" in the Baltic Sea were discovered in September 2022. Two powerful underwater explosions were registered on the pipelines. Traces of explosives were found at the site of the accident. Russia is seeking an international investigation into the terrorist attacks. In February 2024, Putin said in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson that the CIA was responsible for the explosions.