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Report: CIA Had Foreknowledge of Nord Stream Attacks

Published 1 day ago

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Above: Serhii Kuznetsov, a Ukrainian suspected of being involved in the Nord Stream attacks, is led to a helicopter ahead of a court hearing in Germany on Nov. 28, 2025. Image credit: Uli Deck/picture alliance/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-Europe narrative

While the Nord Stream attacks already raised difficult questions for Germany — given that it has provided billions in the form of military support to Ukraine — the CIA's knowledge about the plans brings more headaches for the German leadership. Though the CIA later reversed course, why they would initially support an attack on an ally's critical infrastructure needs an explanation.

DER SPIEGEL Archive

Establishment-critical narrative

This is a classic case of drip-feed disclosure or what's known as strategic normalization. It was obvious from the very beginning that the CIA had a hand in these attacks but following initial denials, more and more details are then leaked to compliant journalists so that when the full story finally comes out, it's not as shocking as it would have been if all the information was released at once. It's only a matter of time before we learn that the CIA was in fact heavily involved in this operation.

Thomas Fazi on X

Metaculus Prediction

Editor's Note

No Pro-U.S. narrative has been included in this story due to the limited response from American sources beyond the CIA's blanket denial to Der Spiegel. We will continue to monitor major outlets and update our coverage as additional perspectives emerge.