Who blew up the $20 billion Nord Stream pipeline? White House again denies ... trends now
A sensational report which claims the U.S. bombed the Nord Stream pipelines has reignited the blame game over who targeted the $20 billion infrastructure project that funnels Russian gas to western Europe.
The White House on Wednesday repeated its denial that the U.S. orchestrated a series of blasts in September 2022. A spokesman described a report that claimed U.S. Navy divers planted remote-controlled explosives on the pipeline as 'utterly false and complete fiction'.
Investigators from Sweden and Denmark have confirmed explosives were found at the blast sites in the Baltic Sea, but no nation or entity has been formally named a suspect in the attack.
The blasts on September 26, 2022 caused major damage to three of the four Nord Stream pipelines, which took 15 years to construct.
For Russia, it appeared to be a major blow to its energy-driven economy, as the damage would prevent billions of dollars' worth of gas flowing into Europe.
A report by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh claims the U.S. was responsible for the Nord Stream pipeline attacks. Navy divers alleged planted the explosives in June, using NATO exercises as cover. They were then detonated remotely in September, it is claimed. The White House and the CIA have flatly denied the report.
Russia has also been accused of carrying out the Nord Stream gas explosions. Explanations range from divers to spy subs, and underwater drones, with one possible motive being to cripple Europe's winter energy supplies
For Europe, it exacerbated an energy crisis that was already spiraling out of control. Countries including Germany relied heavily on Russian energy imports, and weaning themselves off those supplies has proved challenging - and costly.
Several countries were said to have motives for the action: Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Britain, and the United States.
Western fingers have continued to point at Russia, and Moscow has accused the US and Britain of the sabotage.
The report published on Wednesday from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh cites two key reasons the U.S. might have plotted an attack against the pipeline: in retaliation for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and to prevent the Kremlin from weaponizing its energy supplies to Europe.
Hersh's 5,000-word report, published to his Substack blog, cites a single, anonymous source with 'with direct knowledge of the operational planning'.
