‘A legitimate target’

State perpetrators plausible

Almost two years have passed since the Nord Stream pipelines were blown up. Research by veteran investigative US journalist Seymour Hersh remains plausible. Reconstructing the events based on information from intelligence insiders, Hersh argues that the gas pipelines had been targeted by US agencies acting on behalf of the US government. This thesis aligns with a view expressed by experts from the outset, namely that an operation involving such large quantities of explosives at such great depths could only have been carried out by people with access to state resources. Hersh found that the explosives were attached to the pipelines in June 2022 during the large-scale BALTOPS naval manoeuvre and later detonated, in September 2022, using a sonar buoy. Hersh’s research was immediately rejected by both politicians and mainstream media in Germany. An unforgettable example of media rejection of potentially embarrassing findings was the treatment by ‘Fakenfinder’ (Fact Checker), a format of public broadcasting network ARD supposedly examining the veracity of media reports. It sought to defame the renowned US journalist as a “master ... of fantasies”, saying that Hersh had made the “improbable” claim that “Sprengstoff in Pflanzenform“, i.e. plant-shaped explosives, were deployed.[1] The ARD ‘fact-finders’ were clearly incapable of translating Hersh’s text in which to “plant shaped C4 charges” refers, of course, to the placing of explosives (shaped to focus their energy most destructively).[2]

The private perpetrator thesis

Shortly after the publication of Hersh’s findings, German and US media presented an alternative theory that was avowedly based on information from unnamed officials in the incriminated US government and on investigations by German authorities. According to this account, the massive attack had been carried out by just six private individuals, said to be “a group consisting of a captain, two divers, two diving assistants, and a doctor.” The conspirators are supposed to have loaded a small yacht with explosives in Rostock on 6 September 2022 and set off from there on a short cruise around the Baltic Sea. After stops in Wieck on the Darss peninsula, on the Danish island of Christiansø, in Sandhamn in Sweden and in Kołobrzeg in Poland, finally returning to Rostock. It is claimed this gave the divers their opportunity to plant the explosive devices.[3] Experts expressed scepticism in their initial responses. For one thing, the handling of explosives and diving at extreme depths would require “years of training, especially in the military”.[4] It also remained unclear why such highly professional perpetrators would not have removed the traces of explosives and fingerprints allegedly found on the yacht. Indeed, the forensic examination of the yacht did not begin until 18 January 2023, leaving plenty of time to clean up.

Confidents, accomplices?

The suspicion was quickly expressed that the official version of the crime could be deliberately designed to lead the investigations along the wrong track. Yet the German authorities have continued to focus on the activities of the group of individuals who set sail on a yacht in the Baltic Sea. In mid-August, a report in the Wall Street Journal added some new elements to the story. This account has it that the idea of blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines originated in May 2022 when a gathering of Ukrainian military officers and businessmen was celebrating the successes of a Ukrainian counter-offensive at the time, consuming large quantities of alcoholic. President Volodymyr Zelensky is supposed to have initially approved the plan, but withdrew his authorisation following an intervention from Washington. But the then Ukrainian commander-in-chief, Valery Salushny, refused to drop the plan and continued on his own initiative.[5] Salushny naturally denies this accusation, just as Zelensky denies any original involvement in the attack plans. Poland’s government also denies any form of complicity, let alone participation, in the crime. August Hanning, a former President of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), had previously stated that there had been an “agreement between the highest levels in Ukraine and Poland” to carry out the attack.[6]

Investigations thwarted

Not only the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines itself, but also its aftermath has put the German government in an increasingly odd position. Immediately after the attack, it was recalled that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had failed to respond in any way when, at a joint press conference in Washington on 7 February 2022, US President Joe Biden announced that there would be “no more Nord Stream 2” in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine and he would find a way to stop it.[7]. Now there is more astonishment at the lax nature of Germany’s investigations. A member of the yacht crew ostensibly suspected by the German authorities and wanted on a European arrest warrant was apparently able to flee without difficulty from his home west of Warsaw to Ukraine. The Polish authorities said they could not detain the man because the German side had failed to enter him in the Schengen register, the information system accessed for border checks.[8] If this were true, then it would raise further questions. It is also remarkable that this individual, as well as two other suspects, could be easily contacted, presumably in Ukraine, by German journalists but have not been handed over to the federal authorities by Kiev. Must we therefore conclude that Kiev is thwarting Berlin’s attempts to investigate a major criminal attack on Germany’s energy infrastructure?

‘Apologise and keep quiet’

Obstruction of police enquiries is also apparent in the case of Poland. The Polish authorities are not prepared to pass on video recordings from the harbour of Kołobrzeg to the German authorities. These would help to clarify the events surrounding the suspected yacht excursion. Responding to some cautious criticism of Poland’s delaying tactic, Prime Minister Donald Tusk recently stated on X that, “To all initiators and patrons of Nord Stream 1 and 2: the only thing you should do now is apologise and keep quiet.”[9] Czech President Petr Pavel has recently even declared the Nord Stream pipelines to be a legitimate target. “If the attack was aimed at cutting off gas and oil supplies to Europe and money [flowing] back to Russia, then ... that would be a legitimate goal,” Pavel said.[10] The fact that close allies can declare critical attacks on Germany’s energy infrastructure to be legitimate and completely shut down further questioning also illustrates how rapidly the far-reaching control over the EU once enjoyed by Berlin is disappearing.

[1] ARD blamiert sich mit Übersetzungsfehler. t-online.de 24.02.2023.

[2] See also: Tatort Ostsee (III).

[3] See also: Crime Scene Baltic Sea (IV).

[4] Wie plausibel sind die Nord-Stream-Berichte? zdf.de 07.03.2023.

[5] Bojan Pancevski: A Drunken Evening, a Rented Yacht: The Real Story of the Stream Pipeline Sabotage. wsj.com 14.08.2024.

[6] „Es gab Verabredungen zwischen Selenskyj und Duda, den Anschlag auszuführen“, behauptet der Ex-BND-Chef. welt.de 20.08.2024.

[7] Biden nach Gespräch mit Scholz: „Wenn Russland einmarschiert, wird es kein Nord Stream 2 mehr geben“. rnd.de 08.02.2024.

[8] Erster Haftbefehl wegen Nord-Stream-Anschlägen. tagesschau.de 14.08.2024.

[9] „Sich entschuldigen und schweigen“. Donald Tusk kritisiert Nord-Stream-Befürworter. Tagesspiegel.de 17.08.2024.

[10] Ketrin Jochecová: If Ukrainians did destroy Nord Stream, they may have been justified, Czech president argues. politico.eu 21.08.2024.