Terrorism: Federal Attorney General: Nord Stream investigations are making progress

According to Federal Attorney General Jens Rommel, the investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines is making progress. “We managed to identify two suspects. In my view, this is a success that was not necessarily expected at the beginning,” Rommel told the news magazine “Spiegel”. However, there is still a lot to be done. “The identity of others involved, the motivation for the crime and, in particular, the question of possible state control of the operation are the subject of ongoing investigations.”

When asked about possible Ukrainian involvement and the intentions of the sabotage, Rommel said that the investigation was based on the fact that gas pipelines that were supposed to ensure an important part of Germany’s gas supply had been damaged. “This was a significant attack on our country’s energy supply, which was capable of destabilizing the local economy and society – regardless of any political classification.”

At the end of September 2022, the two gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 were damaged and interrupted by several explosions. The explosions were recorded near the Danish Baltic Sea island of Bornholm. A little later, four leaks were discovered on three of the four lines of the Nord Stream pipelines. Russian natural gas previously flowed to Germany through Nord Stream 1. Nord Stream 2 was not yet operational because of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the subsequent political disputes.

There have long been various speculations about the perpetrators and the masterminds. In mid-August it became known that the Federal Prosecutor General was looking for a Ukrainian in the case who is said to have fled from Poland to his home country. He hasn’t been caught yet.

Rommel: There are many dangers for Germany

According to Rommel, the threat situation in Germany is serious: “We live in troubled times. The threats to our free democratic basic order are manifold, they come from within, from outside and extend into everyday life in society,” he said. The attacks by suspected terrorists in Mannheim and Solingen could have affected anyone who happened to be there.

There is no reason to give the all-clear, but you are not completely defenseless either. “The security authorities are making considerable efforts to ward off these dangers,” said Rommel. According to him, politically motivated crime has recently increased in all areas: “It has increased significantly more on the right than on the left, but even more so in the case of Islamist terrorism. I therefore find it difficult to determine a ranking.”