kyiv, Ukraine - New intelligence reviewed by US officials has taken another step toward solving the mystery of who blew up the Nord Stream pipelines last year.
But the information, which suggests that the perpetrators were members of a
pro-Ukrainian group
, is extremely vague.
A Ukrainian soldier walks past a column of destroyed military equipment near the town of Talakovka.
AFP PHOTO / ANATOLII BOIKO
US officials stressed that much was unknown about those responsible for the blasts and their affiliations.
Various groups claiming to support Ukraine have sought to become involved in the war, although their activities and claims cannot always be independently verified.
Intelligence services suggest the saboteurs were opponents of Russian President
Vladimir Putin
but had no known government affiliation, a description that only slightly narrows the range of suspects.
A wide range of pro-Ukrainian groups operate in a murky world with unclear links to Ukrainian or other nations' intelligence or security agencies.
They include groups fighting in southeastern Ukraine or carrying out sabotage operations in Russia and its ally Belarus.
The activities of some of them are described below, although
there is no evidence
that any were involved in the attack on the pipeline.
Russian volunteer corps
This Russian partisan group, linked to the Ukrainian army, claimed on March 2 that it had carried out a cross-border raid from Ukraine into Russia's Bryansk region to seize control of a small town for several hours before returning to Ukraine.
The group's leader is a
Russian nationalist
in exile who opposes Putin's government and has said he wants to inspire armed resistance inside Russia.
It is unclear whether the group, which does not appear to have significant support inside Russia, is acting with the
consent
of the Ukrainian authorities.
Bypol
Bypol, an organization of Belarusian activists opposed to the government of pro-Russian President
Alexander Lukashenko
, claimed in February to have flown an explosives-laden drone in Belarus, damaging a sophisticated Russian early-warning plane parked on the runway of an airbase.
Satellite images from the plane suggested damage to the plane's radar antenna following the attack.
Bypol later released aerial videos that he claimed
corroborated
his role in the attack.
Lukashenko blames the Ukrainian intelligence services;
Ukraine has denied any involvement with him.
bratstvo
This Ukrainian political party, whose name means
Brotherhood, has members
fighting in eastern Ukraine, including in special operations.
The party has described itself as a "revolutionary Christian community".
Its leader, Dmytro Korchynsky, has described the group as a
"philosophical circle
" as well as a battalion of soldiers.
In the war, soldiers from this and other paramilitary groups act under the command of the Ukrainian army.
Four Bratstvo members were killed during a raid on Russian territory late last year.
Honor
This group, which started as a youth movement, is led by Serhii Filimonov, a former member of the Azov organization, a paramilitary group that has fought in the war in eastern Ukraine and later joined the Ukrainian national guard.
Honor has remained
outside of formal military command
but, like Bratstvo, has members fighting in the war in south-east Ukraine.
tradition and order
This group and an affiliated organization,
Vengeance
, were best known for their violent political actions inside Ukraine before some of their members joined the fight against the Russian invasion last year.
In 2015, members of the group were detained in connection with arson attacks on shops belonging to former President Petro Poroshenko's confectionery business.
Some of its members also stormed the Ukrainian parliament building after the country's revolution in 2014 and burned down the office of a now-banned communist party.
Its members are also now fighting in the war.
c.2023 The New York Times Company
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