German investigators are pursuing leads which could implicate Ukraine in carrying out the mysterious Nord Stream pipeline blasts last September, according to a new report.
It comes despite suspicious Russian naval activity in the area just days prior to the still-unexplained explosions on the pipelines that were built to transport gas from Russia to Germany.
The blasts on September 26, 2022, caused major damage to three of the four Nord Stream pipelines, which took 15 years to construct, severing the main energy link between Russia and the West.
Despite three ongoing investigations being carried out by Germany, Sweden and Denmark, no perpetrator has yet been identified.
Since the September blasts, blame has been pinned on the US, Russia, the Ukrainian secret services and an unnamed businessman in Ukraine, but all three countries have vehemently denied responsibility.
German investigators are pursuing leads that Ukraine were responsible for carrying out the mysterious Nord Stream pipeline blasts last September. Pictured: A gas leak at Nord Stream 2
The blasts knocked out three of the four strands of the pipelines, essentially destroying the main energy link between Russia and the West
More recently, all eyes have pointed towards Russian naval activity in the Baltic Sea around the time of the explosions.
Reports in Denmark said a Russian submarine rescue ship SS-750 was photographed in the sea four days prior to the blasts.
The SS-750 has its own mini-submarine, called the AS-26, which can reach depths of 262 feet (80 metres) and carry loads of up to 50kg.
However, some critics question why Vladimir Putin would have interest in diminishing Russia’s energy leverage over Europe by blowing up the vital gas pipes.
In contrast, others claim Russia may have wanted to send a warning signal to the West about the vulnerability of the crucial gas pipelines at sea.
They also claim that Moscow could hide behind a screen of plausible deniability by blowing up its own pipelines in the Baltic Sea – east of the Danish island of Bornholm.
The Times reports that the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation (BKA) is now investigating new leads that could implicate Ukraine and clear Russia of any wrongdoing.
In fact, investigative journalists from Germany, Poland, Sweden and Denmark claimed today that the BKA were unconvinced of any Russian sabotage after thoroughly examining Moscow’s naval manoeuvres around the site of the blasts.
German investigators have now turned their attention to the Andromeda (pictured) – a yacht hire by a Polish company from the north German port of Rostock just weeks before the explosions were carried out
German investigators have now turned their attention to the Andromeda – a yacht hire by a Polish company from the north German port of Rostock just weeks before the explosions were carried out.
Andromeda is said to have docked in the marina of Christianso – a tiny Danish island northeast of Bornholm and in close proximity to where the three bombs went off – in the days leading up to the sabotage.
The yacht was found with traces of ‘military-grade and underwater-deployable’ explosives.
The theory suggests that five men and woman arrived in Germany using fake Bulgarian and Romanian passports before using the yacht as a base to deploy trained divers to plant the bombs around 70m below sea level.
German investigators argue that the attacks would have required aid from state security services and claim to have found evidence that could implicate Ukraine, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
The complex trail is said to lead to a shell company, a travel bureau, which was created by two Ukrainians in Warsaw.
The yacht (pictured) was found with traces of ‘military-grade and underwater-deployable’ explosives
The report also suggests German authorities have singled out two other Ukrainians, from near Kyiv and Odesa, as other members on board the yacht. One, a 26-year-old man, is alleged to have previously served in Ukraine’s army.
Despite these theories surfacing, security analysts have raised doubts over how such a complex operation could have been carried out by a tiny group on a small yacht without a submarine.
The latest investigations into who carried out the Nord Stream blasts come as Ukraine and Russia contest over whether the destroyed city of Bakhmut has been occupied by Moscow.
While Putin has congratulated mercenary group Wagner and his Russian army on taking hold of the city in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky has continued to deny it has been taken.