Seymour Hersh, a well-known US investigative journalist, revealed his investigation results in early February and accused the US intelligence agencies and military of sabotaging the Nord Stream pipeline. However, the mainstream Western media remained surprisingly silent on this issue until March 7 and 8, when they almost unanimously released the so-called claims and shifted the blame for the Nord Stream pipeline blast to a "pro-Ukraine group."

Within a day, the mainstream media in the US, Germany, and the UK have collectively released new claims and shifted their focus from Russia to Ukraine. What does this mean? Ding Chun, Director of the Center for European Studies at Fudan University and President of the Shanghai European Society, believes that the intensive release of new claims by Western media serves two purposes. The first is to dispel the negative impact of Hersh's previous revelations and exonerate the US from the allegations. The second is to maintain the unity of the US and Europe to a certain extent. Currently, there are voices in Germany and other European countries calling for an investigation into the Nord Stream incident and believing that the US should be held responsible. This is not conducive to the unity of the US and Europe and the promotion of the anti-Russia and pro-Ukraine campaign. Therefore, new claims need to be released to counteract these negative effects.

Jin Canrong, a professor at the School of International Studies at the Renmin University of China, believes that this indicates that the previous claims were no longer tenable, and silence is no longer effective in face of the calling for investigation. Therefore, new lies need to be created to cover up the previous lies and respond to different voices within the Western world, including the doubts of some politicians and the public in European countries.

Dmitry Peskov, the Press Secretary of the President of Russia, directly pointed out on March 8 that the reports of the US and Western media coordinated to release fake news to shift public attention away from the true culprits behind the attack.

So why shift the blame to Ukraine? In Jin's view, the West is very calculating and skillful in making Ukraine a scapegoat this time. On the surface, Ukraine, which is anti-Russia and anti-Nord Stream, has certain motives that conform to certain logic. Second, Ukraine is actually hobbled by the US and Europe, and it has to play the role of a scapegoat when necessary, especially when the Nord Stream incident has threatened the relationship between the US and Europe. Third, the so-called pro-Ukrainian group is vague and specious. "There are many anti-Russian organizations in Ukraine, and it is impossible to find out which one it is," Jin said.

There seems to be a tacit understanding between the US and Europe in terms of the Nord Stream incident. Ding pointed out that signs has already been revealed from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's recent visit to the US. This visit is shrouded in the shadow of the Nord Stream incident, and it is impossible for Scholz to bypass this matter during his talks with Joe Biden. However, it can be judged from the reports of the German media that the common denominator between the two leading parties has been reached, and the two countries will not tear each other up over this matter.

For Europe, despite internal anti-war voices, fatigue mentality, and even doubts about the US, "'Don't let Putin win, don't let Ukraine lose' is still the current consensus and political correctness, and security is still the priority. Once there is a situation that is inconsistent with the consensus, Europe will try to blur it and weaken its influence," said Ding. Germany's cautious statement or the selective silence on Hersh's revelations also reflects Europe's desire to suppress the Nord Stream incident and reduce its influence.

Jin said that the Nord Stream incident helped eliminate a major strategic hidden danger for the US objectively, that is, it is hopeless for Russia and Germany to get closer. The Ukrainian crisis has destroyed the political and social basis of Russia-Germany relationships, and the blast of the Nord Stream pipeline has destroyed the only remaining physical link between Russia and Germany. This is the biggest strategic gain for the US.

As for the prospect of the investigation, both scholars held that it will be difficult to proceed. Because currently, it is just the countries involved go their own way and exclude Russia. There is no international investigation team involving all parties, so it is impossible to ensure that the investigation is objective, fair, and transparent. Even if there are so-called results, the credibility remains unknown.

Editor's Note: This article is originally published on shobserver.com, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.