North Stream
Russian military ships are said to have headed for the crime scene before pipeline explosions
The Nord Stream 2 leak from the air. It remains unclear who is responsible for the explosion on the pipeline.
© Danish Defense Command / DPA
Even six months after the explosions on the Nord Stream pipeline, it is unclear who is behind the crime. According to a media report, a new trail should now lead to Russia.
A few days before the attacks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, according to a report, Russian military ships are believed to have operated at the crime scenes. The ship association had the necessary equipment to plant explosive devices, as the news portal “t-online” reported on Saturday, citing information from security circles and publicly available data.
On September 26, explosions damaged the German-Russian gas pipelines at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. According to “t-online”, satellite images show that at least three suspicious ships left Russia’s naval base in Kaliningrad on the night of September 21. The “SS-750” has a mini-submarine with grab arms, the tugboats “SB-123” and “Alexander Frolow” are equipped with loading cranes. On their way to the scene of the crime, the two smugglers sent position data once on the afternoon of September 21.
Nord Stream: At least three Russian ships at the scene
Three other ships of the Russian Navy could have accompanied the operation and provided military protection. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the corvette “Soobrazitelny” and the frigate “Yaroslav Mudry” had escorted a convoy of ships for training purposes.
A total of four explosions in September in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark in the Baltic Sea caused several leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines, which were built to transport Russian gas to Germany. The pipelines were not operating at the time of the explosions but contained gas. According to Sweden, sabotage is behind the incident. Accordingly, explosive residues were detected.
It is still unclear who is responsible for the act of sabotage. Recently there had been indications that a pro-Ukrainian group could have attached explosive devices to the pipelines from a boat and caused them to explode. According to several media reports, the boat was rented by a Polish-based company owned by two Ukrainians. Traces of explosives were later found in the boat.