The explosion of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines was planned ten years ago, according to new information that the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag has obtained.
It is still not entirely clear who was behind the sabotage of the gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea in September 2022. However, according to new information from international security services, these were planned to be carried out even before Russia illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
The attack was planned and carried out by a "Ukrainian group" and the previously mentioned sailing vessel "Andromeda" was involved, according to Welt am Sonntag. However, it is likely that Russia is behind the deed, says the former head of the German intelligence service BND, Gerhard Schindler.
New information strengthens the evidence against the "Andromeda" crew, according to the newspaper. The crew intentionally left traces behind to point out Ukraine for the deed, says Schindler.
Poland is said to have evidence that it has not yet released to the German investigation.
Both Ukraine and Russia have been pointed out as being behind the explosions, as the countries have had motives. The Ukrainians have been opponents of the gas pipelines, and Russia, in turn, has used Nord Stream as blackmail against the West earlier, reports Finnish Yle.