THE HAGUE: Dutch military intelligence warned the CIA of a Ukrainian plan to blow up the Nord Stream gas pipeline three months before explosions damaged the undersea system, news reports said Tuesday.
The US spy agency then urged Kyiv not to go ahead with the operation, Dutch NOS public broadcaster reported, in collaboration with German broadcaster ARD and national weekly Die Zeit.
The CIA warned Ukraine “after receiving an alarming report from the Dutch Military Intelligence Services (MIVD) which heard about the plans via a Ukrainian source,” NOS said.
The Washington Post reported last week that the CIA was tipped off about the Ukrainian plans by a European spy agency, but it did not say which country was responsible.
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren declined to comment when asked about the reports.
“I cannot comment on the work of our intelligence services,” she told reporters at a press conference in Amsterdam, adding that the incident was under investigation by Germany, Sweden and Denmark.
The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, built to carry natural gas from Russia to Germany, were rocked by underwater explosions on September 26.
The Netherlands was one of the key stakeholders in Nord Stream along with Russia, France and Germany.
Accusations were made against several countries including Russia, the United States and Ukraine, but all denied responsibility. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month again denied Kyiv’s involvement.
The plan allegedly intercepted by Dutch intelligence said that top Ukrainian general Valerii Zaluzhnyi was in charge of the operation, involving a small team of divers using a sailing boat, and that Zelensky was not aware, NOS said.
It said that along with German media it had spoken to several international intelligence sources who were aware of the involvement of the MIVD.
The Washington Post said documents leaked by a US Air National Guard computer technician indicated that an unnamed European spy service had told the US Central Intelligence Agency about the plan in June 2022.
Meanwhile, German investigators are probing evidence that Poland was used as a staging base for the operation, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
Dutch spies warned CIA of Nord Stream attack plot: reports
https://arab.news/m4t5q
Dutch spies warned CIA of Nord Stream attack plot: reports
- The CIA warned Ukraine "after receiving an alarming report from the Dutch Military Intelligence Services (MIVD) which heard about the plans via a Ukrainian source"
- The Washington Post reported last week that the CIA was tipped off about the Ukrainian plans by a European spy agency
Trump says US will deal with Greenland ‘easy way’ or ‘hard way’
- Trump says controlling the mineral-rich island is crucial for US national security given the rising military activity of Russia and China in the Arctic
WASHINGTON, United States: US President Donald Trump on Friday again suggested the use of force to seize Greenland as he brushed aside Denmark’s sovereignty over the autonomous Arctic island.
“We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,” Trump said at a White House meeting with oil executives looking to benefit in Venezuela, where the United States last week overthrew the president.
“I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” Trump said when asked of Greenland.
Trump says controlling the mineral-rich island is crucial for US national security given the rising military activity of Russia and China in the Arctic.
“We’re not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland. That’s what they’re going to do if we don’t. So we’re going to be doing something with Greenland, either the nice way or the more difficult way.”
Both countries have increased military activity in the Arctic region in recent years, but neither has laid any claim to the vast icy island.
Denmark and other European allies have voiced shock at Trump’s threats to take control of Greenland, where the United States already has a military base.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an invasion of Greenland would end “everything,” meaning NATO and the post-World War II security structure.
Trump made light of the concerns of Denmark, a steadfast US ally that joined the United States in the controversial 2003 invasion of Iraq.
“I’m a fan of Denmark, too, I have to tell you. And you know, they’ve been very nice to me,” Trump said.
“But you know, the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn’t mean that they own the land.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to meet next week with Denmark’s foreign minister and representatives from Greenland.
