Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has reacted cautiously to media reports about new speculation about the perpetrators of the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines.
He takes note of the research results with great interest, said the SPD politician in the morning on Deutschlandfunk. “But we have to wait and see what is really confirmed. To comment hypothetically now, what if, I don’t think is expedient. That has to be clarified.”
According to research by ARD, SWR and “Zeit”, traces should lead in the direction of Ukraine. Citing intelligence information, it was said that a pro-Ukrainian group could be responsible. From the German side, the federal government and the responsible federal prosecutor did not comment specifically on the reports when asked.
Pistorius: Possibility of a false flag action
When asked what effect a confirmation of the reports would have on Western support for Ukraine, Pistorius referred to the possibility of a false flag action – “blaming pro-Ukrainian groups for this”. In a so-called false flag operation, the perpetrators intentionally lay false tracks that point to other authors. “The probability of one as for the other is equally high,” said Pistorius. “So you just have to wait and see how things develop.”
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also expressed reservations about the reports. “Of course, we follow all reports and also all findings that are available from different actors very, very intensively,” said the Green politician today during her visit to the Kurdish capital of Erbil in response to a journalist’s question. First, however, the competent authorities would have to complete their investigations. This is necessary so that “the government can then make assessments based on these findings and not hastily draw conclusions for ourselves from reports”.
The federal government has repeatedly made it clear that the Attorney General in Karlsruhe is responsible for the investigation. He has been investigating since the beginning of October 2022. “He also has sovereignty over the procedure and not the government, due to our understanding of the rule of law,” said Baerbock.
According to media reports, investigators have so far found no evidence of who commissioned the destruction. However, they identified a boat that could have been used for the Baltic Sea venture. The yacht in question was rented from a company based in Poland, which “apparently belongs to two Ukrainians,” it said. In addition, a team consisting of a captain, two divers, two diving assistants and a doctor brought the explosives to the crime scenes, according to investigations.
Report: The nationalities of the perpetrators are unclear
The nationalities of the people were unclear, the report said. Apparently they used fake passports. The authorities had found out that the boat probably broke up in Rostock before the pipeline explosion on September 6th. They then found it in Wieck am Darß in the Vorpommern-Rügen district and on the Danish island of Christiansø, north-east of Bornholm.
At the end of September, a total of four leaks in the two pipelines from Russia to Germany were discovered after explosions near the Danish Baltic Sea island of Bornholm. The Swedish security authorities determined in November that it was serious sabotage – but without naming a culprit.
