177. Who Blew Up the Nord Stream Pipeline? (Ep 1)
Summary
Hosts Gordon Carrera and David McCloskey discuss the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines with WSJ correspondent Bojan Panczewski. They explore the pipeline’s controversial history and the "startup" of Ukrainian intelligence officers who orchestrated the attack to strike at Russian revenue. The episode details how this group, operating with a fragmented, self-motivated approach, targeted critical infrastructure to disrupt the war effort.
Topics discussed
Intro: The Nord Stream sabotage mystery
Sponsor segments: HP, NordVPN, Carvana
Guest introduction and book context
The explosion: Timeline and seismic evidence
Unprecedented nature of the sabotage
Geopolitics: Germany, Russia, and the pipeline
Putin's KGB network and Matthias Warnig
Pipeline ownership and construction timeline
Sponsor segments: Cancer Research UK, Sally, Indeed
The Ukrainian operatives: The Colonel and General
Ukrainian intelligence culture and fragmentation
The 'Startup': A deep state within Ukraine
Target selection and the Battle of Kyiv
Approval of the operation by General Zaluzhny
Episode conclusion and teaser
Sponsor segments and Battleground Podcast promo
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