German authorities’ investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines revealed signs of links with Ukraine, although it cannot be ruled out that it was a “false flag operation” to accuse Kiev, several media outlets reported on Tuesday.
German investigators managed to reconstruct how the explosion happened and identified a ship allegedly used in the operation, leased by a company in Poland and owned by two Ukrainian citizens, according to German media.on the same day that the American newspaper The New York Times released similar information.
According to this version, the placement of the explosives was carried out by a six-person team consisting of a captain, two divers, two diving assistants and a doctor, whose nationality was not known, as they used false passports to rent the boat. .
According to the sources consulted, this team departed from the German port of Rostock (north) on 6 September and the next day the ship was on the peninsula of Darss (northeast) and later on the Danish island of Christianso.
Investigators found traces of explosives on one of the yacht’s tables, which was returned uncleaned to the owner’s company.
Second Sources of the security services of several European countries consulted by the aforementioned German media, shortly after the attack, in September, a Western secret service informed the allied countries that “a Ukrainian commando” was responsible for the destruction of the gas pipeline.
However, The New York Times quotes North American intelligence sources as stating that there is no evidence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s involvement in this operation.
Subsequently, other indications of Ukrainian involvement emerged, although at this point there is no definitive evidence about the mastermind or who ordered the destruction of the gas pipelines, according to German media.
For experts from the international security services, it cannot be ruled out that it could be a “false flag operation”, that is, that the author deliberately created clues that indicate that Ukraine is guilty.
The adviser to the Ukrainian president has already denied Kiev’s involvement in the operation to sabotage the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
“While I love collecting fun conspiracy theories about the Ukrainian government, I have to say: Ukraine has nothing to do with what happened in the Baltic Sea and has no information about pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups,” Mykhaylo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.
While I enjoy collecting funny conspiracy theories about the government, I have to say: has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea accident and has no information about “pro-sabotage groups”. What happened to the Nord Stream pipelines? “They sank”, as they say in RF themselves…
– Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) March 7, 2023
The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were not carrying gas when they exploded, as Russia had stopped gas flow through the first over the summer, officially due to technical problems, while the second never came on stream.
Source: DN
