According to the German police, it is absolutely clear: the Nord Stream 2 bombing was carried out by an elite Ukrainian military unit under the direct supervision of the then Ukrainian commander-in-chief, General Valery Zaluzhnyi. The investigation was not only complicated by the Ukrainians, but the Poles may also have contributed to the escape of one of the suspects.
For three years, a German investigative team gathered every weekday morning at the German federal police headquarters in Potsdam, Berlin, to find out who was behind the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines. They quickly realized that the Ukrainians were behind the attack and continued the investigation despite pressure that finding the perpetrators could jeopardize support for Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Poland has already refused to extradite one suspect to face trial in Germany. Instead, he is being hailed as a hero for blowing up the pipeline.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the investigation ridiculous. The problem is not that the pipeline was blown up, he said. The “problem is that it was built.”
The September 2022 explosions released a massive amount of methane into the Baltic Sea, the largest human-caused release of the greenhouse gas ever recorded. Some American and German officials have accused Russia of carrying out the explosions. The Kremlin has claimed that the United States and the United Kingdom were behind the attack.
German police, prosecutors and others familiar with the complexities of the case, however, claimed to have a clear picture of how an elite Ukrainian military unit carried out the attacks under the direct supervision of the then Ukrainian commander-in-chief, General Valery Zaluzhnyi.
The investigation
By tracking boat rental companies, telephone numbers and license plates, the Potsdam team laid the groundwork for German authorities to issue arrest warrants for three Ukrainian special forces soldiers and four veteran deep-sea divers, sources familiar with the matter told the newspaper.
The crucial piece of evidence was a grainy black-and-white photo taken by a German speed camera. The image showed the face of a Ukrainian deep-sea diver, whom police identified using commercially available facial recognition software. Within minutes, they found social media profiles and professional websites that contained links to other suspects in the case.
The Ukrainian diver, who was tracked down by the team in Poland, was later taken to Ukraine in a black BMW with diplomatic license plates, driven by the Ukrainian military attaché in Warsaw.
The Ukrainian government declined to comment on the matter. A senior Ukrainian official said privately that Kyiv acted after being warned by the Polish government.
The commander of the operation was found in Italy, where he was on vacation.
Serhii K. may soon be extradited to the Germans by Italian authorities, but according to the Wall Street Journal, bringing him to trial could worsen Ukrainian-German relations.
However, despite the diplomatic consequences, the Germans want to bring Serhii K. to justice, who is currently on hunger strike in an Italian prison, claiming that he is not being provided with food suitable for his vegan lifestyle. Once he is in condition to be transported, the Germans have already prepared a plane to fly him to Hamburg.
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