Nord Stream saboteurs used decoy in bombing: WaPo

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
3 Apr 2023 23:17
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The Washington Post alleges that Andromeda was only a decoy that effectively acted as a diversion for the perpetrator.

Nord Stream pipeline explosion September 2022 (Swedish coast guard via AP)

The Washington Post, citing anonymous investigators, reported Monday that the Andromeda sailboat wasn't the only vessel involved in the bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines.

The paper alleges that Andromeda was only a decoy that effectively acted as a diversion for the perpetrator.

The United States and Europe remain adamant that they are unaware of the real perpetrators behind the Nord Stream sabotage.

Some German officials who were skeptical of the Andromeda theory in the first place are suggesting the possibility that Ukraine and Poland might have played in the pipeline bombing. Poland has denied allegations put forward about their involvement in the attack.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office of Germany in early March confirmed that searches had been carried out on a ship that was allegedly carrying explosives to blow up the Nord Stream gas pipelines, adding that there is no evidence yet that a certain state was managing the operation.

It pointed out that at the moment, the evaluation of the seized material evidence and traces is ongoing, and the identity of the perpetrators and their motives are also the subjects of ongoing investigations.

"There is currently no reliable evidence on this matter, especially on the issue of state control," the prosecutor's office noted, adding that "there are no suspicions regarding the employees of the German company that leased the ship."

Furthermore, the paper reported that investigators found no evidence entailing Moscow's involvement.

Back in mid-March, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh claimed that President Joe Biden was responsible for ordering the Nord Stream pipeline explosion in September last year by using C-4 charges planted by US Navy divers.

He revealed that it was Norway that pointed out to the US the location of where the underwater pipeline was closest to the surface to facilitate the US' operation.

Later in March, he argued that the US elites had a "long-standing history" of being "disturbed by the Russian gas and oil sales to Western Europe", which was further confirmed after US President Joe Biden's public threat to "bring an end" to the Nord Stream pipelines just two weeks prior to the Ukraine war. This, Hersh said, proved that it "wasn’t much of a secret what we wanted to do."

Biden's decision to order the demolition of the Nord Stream pipelines, argued Hersh, was motivated by Germany's projected reluctance to continue arming Ukraine.

During the interview, Hersh highlighted that he was not sure whether Biden's decision was made at a time of "anger" or as a form of "punishment", adding that "those who were involved [in the bombing] had the same thought."