New Poll Points to Pro-Ukrainian Group Sabotaging Gas Pipeline | Ukraine and Russia

A pro-Ukrainian group reports that Nord Stream pipelines, which carry natural gas from Russia to Europe, have been the target of sabotage by a pro-Ukrainian group, on Tuesday (07/03) New York times (New York Times) and German newspapers.

According to The New York Times, from the United States, a report analyzed by American intelligence officials indicates that the sabotage would have come from Kiev sympathizers.

The newspaper also claims that, according to the agents, there is no evidence that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, or Ukrainian officials were involved in the vandalism or that the perpetrators acted on orders from Kiev.

Gas pipelines connecting Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea leaked in September 2022, and are still under investigation.

Although US intelligence officials do not have much information about the perpetrators and their affiliations, a review of the investigation indicates that they were opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The sources refused to disclose to The New York Times how the investigation data was obtained.

German TV networks ARD and SWR and German newspaper Zeit He also published this Tuesday details of the case. According to these vehicles, the German authorities’ investigation into the Nord Stream gas pipeline sabotage revealed evidence of connections with Ukraine, although they do not exclude that it was a “false flag operation” to incriminate Kiev.

According to the newspapers, the secret operation could have been carried out by a team of six people – five men and one woman. The party would consist of a captain, two divers, two dive assistants, and a doctor, who was to transport and set up the explosives. The perpetrators’ nationalities were not disclosed, but they allegedly used false passports, among other things, to charter the boat.

According to the investigation revealed by German newspapers, the group was supposed to leave the German port city of Rostock on September 6, 2022. However, the equipment for the covert operation could have been transported to the port in advance in a delivery truck.

According to reports, investigators managed to locate the boat again the next day at Wieck auf dem Darß in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and later on the Danish island of Kristiansau. Then the yacht was returned to its owner. It contained traces of explosives.

The initial evidence of the perpetrators of the explosion would have been detected by Western intelligence soon after the gas pipelines exploded.

German newspapers claim to have heard from several sources from different countries. Security authorities from Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States participated in the official investigation.

Even if the effects had led to Ukraine, investigators still could not discover who would have ordered or paid for the vandalism.

For experts from international security agencies, it cannot be ruled out that this is a “false flag operation”, that is, the author deliberately created evidence pointing to Ukraine as the culprit. However, investigators seem to have found no evidence to support such a scenario.

Responding to the newspapers, an adviser to Ukrainian President Mikhail Podolyak said it was “obvious” that Ukraine had “nothing to do with the attacks”.

In Germany, the public prosecutor declined to comment on the case. A federal government spokesman said only that investigations were still ongoing in Germany, as well as in Sweden and Denmark.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for an end to speculation until investigations are completed.

Regardless of who was responsible, Stoltenberg said the sabotage “showed the vulnerability of critical infrastructure” in Europe, and therefore it was necessary to strengthen it.

The Swedish Prime Minister also refused to comment on the case, only replying that an investigation is underway to determine those responsible.

Less than two months after the blast, the public prosecutor in charge of the preliminary investigation in Sweden said it was “gross sabotage”. According to the investigators, traces of explosives were found in the channels, but the suspects could not be identified.

In late September 2022, Danish and Swedish authorities discovered gas leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines near an island in Denmark. Pipelines built by Russia carry Russian gas to Germany. Although neither was operating at the time of the explosions, the pipelines remained full due to pressure.

Run by a consortium in which Russian giant Gazprom is a majority, the gas pipelines are at the heart of geopolitical tensions that intensified with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Until 2021, Moscow was Europe’s main supplier of gas, but has since cut off supplies in a possible response to Western sanctions imposed on the country over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.