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Sabotage of gas pipelines: Nord Stream attack: search for puzzle pieces continues

Sabotage of gas pipelines: Nord Stream attack: search for puzzle pieces continues

Reports and new investigative details about the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines raise many question marks and further speculation. Meanwhile, there are new clues on Rügen.

In the case of the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, the investigators’ puzzle work continues in secret as new details emerge. On Thursday, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) did not want to comment on information from a port operator on the island of Rügen, according to which investigators should have questioned his colleagues in January about ship arrivals in September last year – possibly in connection with the act of sabotage.

On Friday, the parliamentary control committee of the Bundestag wants to deal with the Nord Stream investigations in a special session – as usual, the members meet in secret.

At the end of September there were explosions under water. Both strands of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and one strand of Nord Stream 2 leaked. The Baltic gas pipelines run from Russia to Germany. According to investigators, it was an act of sabotage. ARD, SWR and the “Zeit” now reported that a group consisting of six people rented a yacht and probably then transported the explosives to the pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Two of the people have Ukrainian passports. However, a connection to government agencies cannot be established.

BKA surveyed port operators on Rügen

One of the operators of the marina in Wiek on the Baltic Sea island of Rügen told the German Press Agency on Thursday that BKA investigators had questioned his colleagues about ship arrivals in September. The surveys were carried out in person, by post and by telephone, but he was not there personally, said René Redmann, who is one of the port operators in the north of the island. “Insights that we had at that point in time about any arrivals or non-arrivals were reported to the BKA, so to speak, and I can’t say any more than that.” Redmann did not want to give any information about the arrivals themselves. A BKA spokesman said on request that the BKA generally does not comment on preliminary investigations and referred to the Federal Public Prosecutor General.

ARD, SWR and “Zeit” had reported that, according to the investigation, the commando should have set sail from Rostock. An original statement that it was staying in Wieck (Darss) has now been corrected. In fact, it was Wiek auf Rügen.

Kremlin: Reports “hard to believe”

Also in January, the federal prosecutor’s office had a suspicious ship searched as part of their investigation. There is a suspicion that it could have been used to transport explosive devices that exploded on the pipelines on September 26, 2022, a spokeswoman for the Karlsruhe authority said on Wednesday on request. The evaluation of the seized traces and objects is ongoing.

A diving expert told the dpa that he thought such an attack could also be carried out from a sailing yacht, provided that it was a matter of professionals.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, has denied reports that an alleged private pro-Ukrainian group was behind the gas pipeline attacks. “As for the pro-Ukrainian ‘Doctor Evil’, who is said to have organized all this, it’s hard to believe,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Interfax news agency. Few secret services could accomplish such a task.

Source: Stern

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