The attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the territorial waters of Denmark and Sweden was planned back in 2014 before the annexation of Crimea. The German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported this with reference to sources in German investigative authorities and investigation data from international intelligence services.
In the summer of 2023, the publication writes, Polish intelligence services provided German intelligence BND with information about people who may be associated with the explosion of gas pipelines and “have connections with Moscow.” According to Welt am Sonntag, a week before the explosions, Polish border guards checked the Andromeda yacht in the city of Kolobrzeg. Members of her crew are considered involved in organizing the attack.
At the same time, the Polish authorities did not hand over video recordings of the yacht and crew to the German investigator — according to the newspaper, due to the fact that in the footage one can see not only the Andromeda crew, but also “Polish and American agents.” Polish intelligence services believe that Moscow ordered the explosion because the crew members had Russian citizenship, adds Welt am Sonntag.
The former head of the German intelligence service, Gerhard Schindler, told the publication that “the results of the investigation may lead to a Ukrainian group, but this does not mean that Ukraine was the customer.” In his opinion, the crew could have deliberately left traces in order to hide the Russian operation “under a false flag.”
The destruction of three Nord Stream lines became known in September 2022. The Wall Street Journal claimed that Russia itself could be behind the attack. Tagesspiegel, Zeit and the New York Times wrote about sabotage by Ukraine. Moscow claims that it has “materials that indicate a Western trace” in the destruction of gas pipelines. The FSB is investigating a case of international terrorism.
In November 2023, the Washington Post and Spiegel wrote that the bombing was coordinated by Ukrainian Colonel Roman Chervinsky, and under his command were six people who, using forged documents, rented the yacht Andromeda and using deep-sea equipment they installed explosives on the gas pipeline.
In 2024, Sweden stopped the investigation into the bombings because it went beyond Swedish jurisdiction and transferred the case materials to Germany.