US intelligence organizations believe an unspecified pro-Ukrainian group independent of the Ukrainian government and military is responsible for the explosions that shut down the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, undermining claims by Tucker Carlson and other right-wing pro-Putin gadflies who want to blame the United States, the New York Times reports.

Intel reports admit the agencies do not know a lot about the group responsible except that it appears to have strong anti-Putin sentiment and was likely trying to damage Putin’s power and reputation while aiding the Ukrainian war effort by damaging Russia’s economy by cutting off revenue from gas sales.  Western officials have long denied involvement in the attack, but pro-Kremlin elements in American media and politics have persisted in claiming the Biden Administration ordered the attack despite no evidence.  Fox anti-American propagandist Carlson claimed after the attack in September, “If [the Biden Administration] did this, this will be one of the craziest, most destructive things any American administration has ever done.”  Carlson apparently forgot about George W. Bush’s order to invade Iraq in 2003.

Initial speculation from Western intelligence agencies was that the attack was carried out by a Russia-aligned group, possibly affiliated with the Russian military because of known Russian undersea capabilities.  However, given that an operating Nord Stream system would have meant significant revenue for the cash-strapped Kremlin, the only reason Putin would have allowed such an attack was as a false-flag operation to raise sympathies for Russian interests.  Russia also might have used the pipeline attacks as a pretext to invade the Baltic nations, claiming they needed improved access to the sea to protect its vital interests.  Estimates on the cost to repair the pipelines range in the half-billion dollar range.