Russia urges Germany to fully disclose intel on Nord Stream bombings
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While Russia believes that the United States is behind the Nord Stream bombings, it is calling on Germany to divulge any information it might have on the attack.
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Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 2' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, northern Germany, on February 15, 2022 (AP)
Russia has intensified its calls for Germany to provide full transparency in its investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticizing Berlin for allegedly concealing facts about the incident and insisting that Germany must stop "categorically refusing to present the facts that it couldn’t have failed to discover."
The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which were vital for transporting Russian natural gas to Germany and other parts of Western Europe, were sabotaged in September 2022.
A series of explosions under the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm rendered the pipelines inoperable. Despite ongoing investigations, the perpetrators have yet to be officially identified.
Moscow has placed the blame on Washington, accusing the US of orchestrating the attack, while Kiev has suggested that Russia destroyed its own infrastructure. In contrast, sections of the Western media have speculated that a "pro-Ukrainian group" carried out the sabotage.
In an interview with Izvestia published on Monday, Lavrov highlighted that when information formally requested by Russia is withheld but later appears in news articles, it raises "suspicions that all of this is staged."
He also said this insinuates that the entire operation was "designed to somehow divert public opinion" from the "true perpetrators, culprits, and clients [of the attack]." He also criticized Germany for "silently accepting" the loss of a long-term energy supply crucial for the country’s development.
Official steps taken
The Russian Foreign Ministry has taken official steps, with Foreign Ministry official Oleg Tyapkin confirming that Moscow has filed a formal complaint with Berlin over its handling of the investigation. Russia has urged Germany and other affected countries to fulfill their obligations under UN anti-terrorist conventions.
Tyapkin noted that the German authorities have issued a warrant for only one suspect, a Ukrainian citizen allegedly part of a group from the same country. However, he pointed out that German media have continued to suggest that the suspects might not be linked to any particular nation.
He warned that it seems likely the investigation "will be closed without identifying the true culprits behind the Nord Stream bombings," a result that Russia would not accept.
As the investigation continues, Moscow has vowed to formally insist on a transparent international inquiry into the bombings, with Lavrov emphasizing the need for accountability and transparency in uncovering the truth.
Germany issues warrant over Nord Stream explosion
Germany’s chief prosecutor has issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian man suspected of attacking the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea nearly two years ago, according to German media reports.
Public broadcaster ARD, along with the Suddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeit newspapers, identified the suspect as a Ukrainian citizen who had been residing in Poland but is now in hiding. The Swedish newspaper Expressen, part of the media group that first reported the story, named him as Volodymyr Zhuravlov, 44, who is accused of "anti-constitutional sabotage and causing an explosion."
A spokesperson for the German prosecutor’s office declined to provide further details.
If confirmed, this would mark the first significant development in the ongoing investigation into the September 26, 2022 explosions that destroyed the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. The blasts, near Denmark's Baltic Sea island of Bornholm, resulted in four leaks and have puzzled investigators trying to determine the responsible party for this major act of sabotage in recent European history.
Nord Stream 1 had been the primary route for Russian natural gas to Germany, while Nord Stream 2 had been completed but was not yet operational at the time of the explosions, coinciding with increased political tensions between Berlin and Moscow following the onset of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
By the time of the explosions, Russia had already halted much of its gas exports to Germany.
According to ARD, the suspected attackers used a German sailing yacht named Andromeda, rented in September 2022, to navigate into the Baltic Sea. In July 2023, investigators found traces of explosives on the boat, which they believe were used to transport the charges for the attack.
