​A Russian ship specializing in underwater operations was spotted near the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea days before the mysterious explosions that damaged the pipeline, the Danish military said, confirming reports from the Daily News cited by DPA and Agerpres. .

The Danish Defense Command Center told the newspaper that on September 22, 2022, a patrol ship took 26 photos of the SS-750 east of the island of Bornholm.

Four days later, explosions damaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines connecting Russia and Germany, which are located near the island of Bornholm. The explosions, which caused significant methane leaks, are believed to be the result of sabotage.

In mid-April, the Informatsia newspaper reported that the Danish patrol vessel P524 Nymfen took 112 photos of Russian ships in the area on September 22, but the military had not previously confirmed that the vessel was in the area that day.

Germany, Sweden and Denmark have launched an investigation into the incident, but have not yet announced the culprits.

The presence of a Russian ship, a strange coincidence

The German portal t-online reported at the end of March, citing information from special services and publicly available data, that several Russian ships were operating in the area just a few days before the pipeline explosions, including the SS-750.

The SS-750 has a mini-submarine with mobile weapons and was specially designed for underwater operations, Swedish researcher and intelligence expert Joachim von Braun told Information.

Another expert, Oliver Alexander, quoted in an article published Thursday evening, said the ship could, in theory, have been in the area for other reasons.

“But the timing, to be in this place at this moment is something,” he said.

Track of the American press regarding the explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines

The new information came after The New York Times reported in early March this year, citing U.S. officials on condition of anonymity, that a pro-Ukrainian group was responsible for the explosions that shut down gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea last year.

The NYT cited a review of new information that suggested opponents of President Vladimir Putin were responsible for the sabotage, but US officials declined to say who directed or paid for the operation.

They emphasized that this conclusion is not unequivocal and that the possibility that a “proxy force” linked to the Ukrainian government or its security services was behind the attack is not excluded. Ukraine has denied any involvement in sabotage both after the explosions and after the NYT story appeared.

American officials cited by the NYT also said that, despite the speculation that arose in this regard, the evidence available at the time did not indicate the involvement of the Russian state in organizing the sabotage.

A day after this article appeared in the American press, the German weekly Die Zeit published an investigation, which claimed that a yacht chartered by a Polish company allegedly owned by Ukrainians was involved in the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, but that it was suspected that a “covert operation” conducted under a false flag.

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