BERLIN. The German newspaper Zeit likens the case of his explosion to a political thriller. Nord Stream gas pipeline September last year, which became the subject of a dispute between the warring parties, Russia on the one hand, and Ukraine-USA on the other.

A six-man commando team is behind an operation to plant explosives in three of the four pipes east of Bornholm at a depth of 80 meters. The prosecutor’s office, investigating the incident, considers it a coincidence that the fourth pipe was not destroyed.

Chronicles

The criminals chartered a yacht in Rostock on 6 September. The passports they showed were fake, but in a professional sense. In the port of the Hanseatic city, explosives were loaded onto a boat, and when the yacht was delivered, tiny traces of explosives were found on the cabin table. Apparently, pressure was put on the criminals, and they did not have time to cover their tracks. Stopping at Vik, a seaside resort in Germany, a favorite habitat for cranes and geese, the saboteurs took refuge in a small harbor on the Danish island of Kristiansand, northeast of Bornholm, before heading to where the pipelines run. The prosecutor’s office believes that in addition to the agent next to the captain, two divers, two assistants and a doctor were recruited, since such an operation at a depth of 80 meters could potentially be life-threatening. Only professionals could complete the mission. It is still unclear what the trigger mechanism was, which, apparently, worked like a clock. The explosion reportedly created a three to five meter sinkhole on the seabed and ruptured the pipeline 250 meters.

Where do the tracks lead?

Only professional divers were allowed to carry out the mission of laying explosives.

And how do the special services conclude that all traces lead to Ukraine? In addition to the initial testimony last fall, it is surprising that the yacht was rented by a company from Poland, owned by two Ukrainians. From here, traces lead to connections with other Ukrainians.

The case is expected to cause major geopolitical upheaval as the site of the explosion is in international territorial waters and close to the economic zones of Denmark and Sweden. The explosion is an act of terrorism, and the culprit now faces exposure in the international arena, as well as political and economic consequences. Especially if it turns out that statesmen are also involved in the energy sector. However, the fact that the group had contacts with Ukraine does not prove the involvement of the Ukrainian government. So far, German prosecutors have not found any indication that President Volodymyr Zelensky or his entourage gave the order to blow up the Nord Stream gas pipeline. Zeit publishes a refutation of adviser to the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak. He also recalls that a few days ago, Sweden, Denmark and Germany informed the UN Security Council that the investigations did not lead to any conclusions. However, both Chancellor Olaf Soltz and the White House were informed of the initial findings.

Investigation continues

At the moment, the German prosecutor’s office has not completed the investigation, so there is still a possibility that it will finally be proven that this was a provocation and that the perpetrators deliberately wanted to expose Ukraine. This scenario would resemble ordinary Russia, which traditionally wants to present itself as a victim, Podolyak points out in a German newspaper.

The identification of members of the group of criminals is still slow, as the identities were clearly fake, and the prosecutor’s office relies solely on the testimony of witnesses. Therefore, efforts to search for special forces, financiers and their partners are still slow, as the participants acted very professionally. What happens next politically, however, is another matter, as the debate has only just begun, the report concludes.

The Germans doubt the scenario of American sabotage

The widely acknowledged sabotage against the Nord Stream gas pipeline was organized by a “pro-Ukrainian” group and was treated with great caution by the German government, according to the New York Times.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he read the relevant report “with great interest” as well as subsequent reports in the German media, but stressed that jumping to conclusions should be avoided.

“We must make a clear distinction between the possibility that the Ukrainian group acted on orders from Ukraine and the case where they acted without the knowledge of the government,” Pistorius said on the sidelines of a meeting of his European colleagues in Stockholm. He hastened to add an “equal” third possibility, a provocation to accuse Kyiv of blowing up pipelines carrying Russian natural gas to his country.

“This is not the first such case in the history of such events,” the German official said. Asked by a reporter if media revelations about the incident could sway Western support for Ukraine, he said it was too early for such speculation as the sabotage investigation had not yet reached clear conclusions, and he refrained from answering when he had a credible information in his hands. “Everything else is speculation,” he said. Volodymyr Zelensky, an adviser to the President of Ukraine, from the first moment denied any assumptions about the involvement of Kyiv, speaking of “hilarious conspiracy theories.” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov from Stockholm categorically stated that the sabotage “was not the result of our own actions” and added: “They (reports) sound like compliments to our special forces, but this is not the activity they are undertaking.” .

With rare exceptions to the rules, Moscow seems to agree with the Ukrainian point of view from a different perspective. A Kremlin spokesman dismissed the New York Times report as a deliberate attempt to mislead Washington circles by hinting at possible US involvement in the sabotage.

“Obviously, those responsible for the attack want to divert attention. Obviously, what we are seeing is a deliberate attempt to mislead,” said Dmitry Peskov, who wondered “how can American officials make assumptions even without an investigation”? President Putin’s spokesman again complained that his country was excluded from the investigation of the incident, and said that “this is not just strange, it smacks of a heinous crime.”

Investigations by the three coastal states closest to the place of sabotage (Germany, Sweden and Denmark) have not yet come to any conclusions. Last month, Russia submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council that, if passed, would oblige UN Secretary-General António Guterres to launch an international investigation into the case.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby also distanced himself from press reports, urging, in turn, to wait for the results of investigations conducted by three European countries. NATO Secretary General was on the same wavelength. “What we know for sure is that there was an attack on the Nord Stream pipelines, but we still cannot determine who was behind it,” said Jens Stoltenberg from Stockholm.