It’s been a year since the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines. The topic is politically extremely explosive and a lot is still unclear. And according to experts, it could stay that way for a long time.
Gathering information about the Nord Stream attacks is difficult. In Germany, the Federal Prosecutor General investigates, who regularly informs the Interior Committee and the Federal Chancellery. But that happens behind closed doors.
However, essential information circulating in the German media has been confirmed again and again. And so the story of the Nord Stream attacks goes like this: At the beginning of September 2022, the “Andromeda”, a 15 meter long boat, sets sail from Rostock. There are a total of five men and one woman on board – a captain, two divers, two diving assistants and a doctor. They had presented fake passports to the German boat rental company. The group is said to have transported the explosives to the crime scenes and placed them there.
Immense damage to the tubes
On the night of September 26, 2022, the first explosion was registered near the Danish island of Bornholm, followed by others in the evening of the same day. The Nord Stream pipelines consist of a total of four strands, only one strand remains intact after the blasts.
The damage is immense; according to Nord Stream AG, one of the pipes was destroyed over a length of 250 meters, and gas bubbles rising from the leaks could be seen on the surface of the water within a radius of up to one kilometer.
Traces of explosives on the “Andromeda”
Media reports that the “Andromeda” was returned to the owner in an uncleaned condition. Investigators were able to detect traces of explosives on the table in the cabin.
In June 2023 it became known that the USA had suspicions long before the attacks. As the Washington Post writes, the USA is said to have shared this information with Germany and other Europeans in June 2022 – three months before the attack.
The plan is said to have been very detailed. The plan was apparently for six people involved to travel to the pipelines in a boat rented under a false identity and then dive to the lines to plant explosive devices. However, the project was put on hold for unknown reasons.
Central elements of this correspond to the previous investigation results, writes the Washington Post. This also agrees with information fromARD capital studio,Contrasts,SWRand “Zeit”, according to which a Western secret service transmitted a corresponding tip to European partner services at around the same time.
Zelenskyj denies responsibility
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he knew nothing about it. The Ukrainian army and intelligence services did nothing of the sort. Otherwise he would like to see evidence.
In international security circles, it is not ruled out that this could also be a “false flag” operation. This means that traces could have been deliberately laid that point to Ukraine as the perpetrator. However, investigators appear to have found no evidence to support such a scenario.
Attorney General does not comment publicly
Since then, there has been a lot of speculation about the question of who was responsible for the attack, but little has been clarified. The Federal Prosecutor General is investigating but is not commenting publicly. Chancellor Olaf Scholz is pushing for clarification. The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Chancellery are involved in the German investigation, where the threads come together.
The Parliamentary Control Committee is informed regularly. It is responsible for controlling the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). The Federal Government is obliged to inform the Parliamentary Control Committee comprehensively about events of particular importance.
The head of the parliamentary control committee is Konstantin von Notz from the Greens. He will be “regularly and comprehensively informed about the intelligence services’ findings.” The Parliamentary Control Committee has the right to ask questions and can also pull files if necessary. According to von Notz, there is “a good basis for the intelligence services’ findings.”
“We have to live with the uncertainty for now”
Despite the good flow of information, von Notz is not sure who is behind the attacks. He believes that “we really have to force ourselves to live with uncertainty in this complicated situation.”
To this day it is unclear exactly who the six people on the boat are and who their client was. Germany is investigating in close cooperation with Sweden, Denmark and Poland.
Green Party politician von Notz is certain that it is “a state or quasi-state actor.” This attack was not carried out by “criminals or some small terrorist puzzle group that put together an attack.” But from someone who approached it quite professionally. And the professionalism of the actors is also the big problem for the investigators. State actors know about the investigation methods and options, says von Notz. You still have to be patient with the results.
Scholz: Interest in enlightenment “very large”
For a year now, Chancellor Scholz has repeatedly said that the interest in clarification is “very great”. But is that true? The Nord Stream attacks are so politically explosive – wouldn’t it be conceivable that the federal government would rather not know who was behind them?
Von Notz says that, in his opinion, the investigations are being carried out very seriously. “Everything humanly possible” is being done to find out who is behind these attacks. That’s why he’s optimistic that those responsible will be found and held accountable in court – at some point. But no one can tell you that 100 percent. BND boss Bruno Kahl had already dampened hopes of a quick clarification in May.