Ukraine likely behind Nord Stream pipeline sabotage: German Media

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
26 May 2023 21:08
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Evidence pointing to such a connection was identified via metadata from emails used to rent a sailboat suspected to have been used to carry out the operation.

Gas leak off Bornholm photographed on September 27, 2022 (AFP)

German news outlet Der Spiegel reported on Friday revealed that indications of Ukraine's involvement in the sabotage operation on the Nord Stream gas pipelines are increasing.

As per the report, the evidence pointing to such a connection was identified via metadata from emails used to rent a sailboat suspected to have been used to carry out the operation.

According to an investigation conducted by various broadcasters and media partners, the CEO of the company through which the sailboat was rented happens to reside in Kiev.

The joint report added that a Ukrainian man in his twenties with ties to Kiev's armed forces may have been part of the group who hired the sailboat to carry out the attack.

Der Spiegel notes that the many clues to Ukraine were corresponding to observations made by several intelligence agencies, adding that the latter examined whether the sabotage operation was carried out by an independent Ukrainian group or a government-backed unit.

A report published by the Washington Post on April 4 revealed that the yacht which was used in the operation, 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.

In 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.

He later 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."