Ever since the Nord Stream sabotage took place, I’ve argued that Ukraine is the most likely culprit.
It had a strong motive: eliminating Germany’s incentive to defect from the pro-Ukraine coalition. It would have been much less risky for Ukraine than for either Russia or a NATO country. There’s precedent: Ukraine has carried out numerous sabotage operations during the war. And in the summer of 2022, Germany was actually warned about a possible Ukrainian attack on the pipelines.
Back in March, various Western newspapers reported that “pro-Ukraine saboteurs” may have been responsible. Although there was “no evidence” that Zelensky or his top generals were involved, the saboteurs “might have connections to the Ukrainian Government or its security services”, wrote the New York Times.
In its own reporting, the Times referred to a “suspected private sponsor, a Ukrainian not affiliated with President Zelensky’s government”, and claimed that his name “has been circulating in intelligence circles for months”.
The alleged plot involved “a yacht, elite divers, forged passports and the procurement of shaped explosive charges only available to the gas and oil industry”. The yacht, where it is said investigators found “traces of explosives”, was later identified as the Andromeda – a 50ft pleasure boat.
As to who the “suspect private sponsor” might be, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that he is a “Ukrainian oligarch” who “used to be active in politics”, and that the sabotage took place on his birthday. All this points to former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, whose birthday is September 26th – the date of the bombing.
In the latest development, the Times reports that Germany’s Federal Office of Criminal Investigation is “exploring fresh leads in a theory implicating Ukraine”. (The theory is the same as before – the one involving the Andromeda.)
Investigators think the attack “could only have been carried out with help from a state security service”, and they have “uncovered evidence that may point to Ukrainian involvement”. Note that until the reports about “pro-Ukraine saboteurs” appeared, European officials had been insisting that a “state actor” must be responsible.
In addition to the two Ukrainians who are said to have founded the company that rented the Andromeda, German authorities have identified two others who may have been part of the ship’s crew – one of whom is believed to have served in the army.
The main reason to doubt the ‘Andromeda theory’ is that it’s difficult to believe such a small team of people, using only a pleasure boat, would have been able to carry out the operation. It’s a “James Bond” theory, as one commentator put it. On the other hand, U.S. national security advisor Fiona Hill has said that “Ukraine could have found a way of doing this: we’ve seen them be extremely inventive”.
Aside from the possibility that Russia is responsible, something of which German investigators are apparently “unconvinced”, the main rival theory is Seymour Hersch’s – which pins the blame on U.S. President Joe Biden. While his story may yet be corroborated, various inaccuracies and inconsistencies have been identified and I don’t find it nearly as plausible as the one implicating Ukraine.
The latest inaccuracy in Hersch’s reporting concerns his article ‘THE UKRAINE REFUGEE QUESTION’, where he includes Hungary in a list of countries that are “allies of Ukraine and declared enemies of Vladimir Putin”. This simply isn’t true: Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been highly critical of Zelensky and is generally considered Europe’s most Russian-friendly leader.
According to leaked documents seen by the Washington Post, Zelensky has expressed “rage” toward Hungary and even suggested blowing up the Druzhba pipeline which transports oil from Russia. So it sounds like the feeling’s mutual. (Incidentally, the Post’s revelation constitutes further circumstantial evidence for Ukrainian involvement in the Nord Stream sabotage.)
If Hersch can’t get basic details right, it’s hard to trust his more audacious claims about the bombing of Nord Stream. I still don’t buy it.
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What is without question, it would seem, is that Russia did not do it..which is really the most important point surely?
Presumably if the Germans are happy to collude with the USA in the destruction of their infrastructure … as they seem to be…reporting yet another bullshit story about it
isnt a problem…what happened to the last ‘people on a yacht theory??
Another view, and one which back’s Hersh’s story…regardless that he may not be right on every point..any other version memory holes a mountain of historical evidence from the USA….which is well documented…
https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/1660420327325958144
EXCLUSIVE from a #NordStreamSabotage whistleblower:
I am writing to you as a concerned citizen of the world, wishing for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine. My identity is not of importance. What matters is the sharing of my story so that the world can understand the truth about the Nord Stream Sabotage, thereby moving forward without lies or inaccuracies.…..
Before the attacks on September 11, 2001, I started working with contractors at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in Maryland. We were working on the Advanced Seal Delivery System (ASDS), a covert mini-submarine designed for the Navy Seals to carry out stealthy clandestine missions. This submarine is transported on the back of nuclear submarines and detaches to execute its missions.
Even in 2001, we had the ability to program a variety of scenarios, including the sabotaging of pipelines. Although I did not pilot a simulated mission specifically for the Nord Stream pipelines, I did simulate scenarios of covertly sabotaging pipelines. I can confirm that the United States has had this capability for decades, and the ASDS is in the US inventory, fully capable of executing the Nord Stream Sabotage.
Publicly available radar evidence from http://flightradar24.com helps shine light on how the Nordstream sabotage was conducted. As exposed by Seymour Hersh, the explosives were planted during the Baltops 22 maritime exercises. Although speculation remains as to the exact method of explosives placement, I believe that the modern Advanced Seal Delivery System (ASDS) was utilized with Navy divers. This mirrors the way I would have conducted the mission in the simulator.
What’s really odd about the whole situation with nord stream is that the international reaction to such an epic act of international infrastructure terrorism is so muted! as if countries know who did it and want to play it down? Like, “Hmm shush, well, hmm, don’t mention the nord stream, end of!”
That is by far the most telling piece of evidence.
Yes I agree…there have even been European MP’s reported as saying it’s sort of safer not to talk about it! …and at no stage will they let anyone ‘independent’ investigate it..so I think don’t think they’ll change anyone’s mind…it still seems as though they’re intent on a cover-up…
What is also a mystery is what is going to happen if Germany really believe this? What will their relationship with Ukraine be?….Is it something you can just ‘brush-off’..I don’t think so…..Is it a way to separate themselves from Ukraine by having a ‘counter’ against any further aid?……??
Regards the MSM, can you imagine the pandemonium if the Commander in Chief of the Russian Army had disappeared/been injured/died and had not been seen for weeks, like Zaluzhnyi has…and yet..crickets!!?
Agreed. Pretty obvious who did it.
Biden Promising To End The Nord Stream Pipeline 23 sec
White House Gratified About Nord Stream Sabotage 13 sec
Seymour Hersh Discusses The Nord Stream Pipeline 6 min
Not new video but worth another look
..going back years..I saw a vid’ with Condoleezza Rice saying it..there are dozens of them..besides the ‘who benefits’ obviousness of it….
Ukraine supported logistically, tactically and financially by the so called leaders of the free world, NATO puppeteers, the USA.
Come on downvoters, let’s see what you’ve got…
Perhaps all the theories slowly coming out without any reference to the forensic evidence say more about geopolitical, and propaganda, motives than genuine suspicions. After all, who are the Germans in a position to blame?
Yes but this is all speculation and Hersch has sources who described how the operation was planned and accomplished and say the US did it. If Hersch has conflicts of interest or is compromised in any way there is no hint of it in public (that I’m aware of) and prima-facia there is no reason to think he has an incentive to lie. He has a great reputation and track record and there is such a thing as professional integrity. Sure this world is full of corruption and subterfuge. But simply put, I prefer not to doubt people unless there is reason, and I choose to believe him and that his sources are real over armchair speculation.
Governments, on the other hand, such as Germany, have numerous geopolitical reasons to throw shade in any particular direction.
Good comment. Pipeline destruction as an event, aside, which country seems to have benefitted most from the lack of natural gas from Russia. The USA became the worlds leading exporter of gas at the start of last year, but not to Europe, now it is, how convenient. Hey?
And Canada, strangly enough! They are exporting lpg like its going out of fashion!
Yep. USA buying gas from Canada, absolutely loads of it, then selling it on the international market to those who no longer buy Russian through sanction. It did cross my mind that the pipeline blast would ensure the the EU would not renege of the sanctions, and find a loop hole to start buying Russian gas again. Add into this cash fest, the green laws the USA has introduced and is encouraging EU industry to move, plus arms to Ukraine, loads of dosh
MOD: why can’t we comment on Cracker Jack Watson’s latest article about Climate gobbledegook in French?!
And I thought it was just me going slightly mad! I’m just a little weary that’s all!
I honestly hope and prey this kid is kosher, it gives great comfort of a more sensible future knowing he is in the world!
Apologies, the Commenting feature was disabled in error, but has now been switched on
Very few people will know, definitively, who was responsible.
And those who do know will be either in Russia or Ukraine……and they won’t be shouting it from the rooftops.
This is what we do know:
The technical characteristics of Nord Stream are a matter of record. Each pipe was surrounded by a wall of 41-mm diameter steel, in turn encased in a 110-mm weight coating (doubling the weight of the pipes) and then, to further fix them on the 80m seabed, a thick covering of stones.
As to the damage caused by the explosions, the operator of both pipeline systems, Nord Stream AG, had this to say:
‘…technogenic craters with a depth of 3 to 5 meters were found on the seabed at a distance of about 248 m from each other. The section of the pipe between the craters is destroyed, the radius of pipe fragments dispersion is at least 250 m.’
Such effects could only have been created by an explosion of enormous force.
Performing such work would require:
A vessel with an on-board crane for cargo, with a specially trained crew, equipped with at least a remote-controlled device with a manipulator for carrying out underwater technical work…in order to carry out the relevant preparatory work….In addition, it is impossible to perform a set of preparatory works in one descent to the bottom in just one hour, and even more in three places.
Three ships, according to the investigation, sailed from naval bases in Russia to near the blast sites in June and September 2022. All of the ships had turned off their location tracking AIS services, an act often described as “going dark” and commonly used for disguising activity. Among the vessels were the navy research ship Sibiryakov and a tugboat called SB-123, which is said to be capable of launching mini-submarines. (In November 2022,
Separately, another Russian vessel, the SS-750, which carries a small submarine, was near the pipelines four days before they were blown up. Danish Defense Command confirmed that it had 26 photos of the SS-750 near the sites.
On 2 September Gazprom announced that it would close Nord Stream 1 ‘indefinitely’, pending the resolution of ‘maintenance’ issues caused by sanctions. As noted by Deutsche Welle, Russia has also cut off supply to Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Poland completely, and reduced flows via other pipelines in response to sanctions. Europe is responded with law suits and fines, which might amount to $35bn.
Three weeks after Nord Stream 1’s closure, the pipelines were destroyed. No pipeline, no liability.
So there we have it; nothing conclusive, but the duck identification method of Walter Reuther may be instructive.
A good comment. It seems that there is a lot of speculation around as who may have blasted the pipe, and for reasons that could be attributed for the blast. Each of the accused have potential reasons to blow the pipe, and whoever did it was careful to leave little evidence of their involvement. What ever you say about the destruction of the pipe, the one thing that is certain, is that it was convenient to someone.
Why then do you think Germany, Denmark and Sweden’s reports are all very sceptical about the ‘Russian ships’ theory?
Because the presence of Russian ships in the area is not proof.
They are also sceptical about the Andromeda theory.
It is their job, like ours, to be sceptical until the facts are clear.
Motives?
Russia:
Powerful signal to Europe of the vulnerability of its key underwater infrastructure. Also sends message that there is now a new cold war between Russia and Europe.
Ukraine:
Has always wanted to shut down Nord Stream so that Russian gas for Europe continues to flow through Ukraine, providing much needed revenue.
Poland:
One of the most vocal critics of Nord Stream, putting Europe at the mercy of Russia.
U.S.:
Another vocal critic of Nord Stream for same reasons as Poland.
What do the intelligence agencies say?
A senior Western security official said governments investigating the bombings uncovered evidence that pro-Ukraine individuals or entities discussed the possibility of carrying out an attack on the Nord Stream pipelines before the explosions.
The official referred to “signals” that such an operation was discussed or considered. The official emphasized that these communications were only discovered after the attack as Western spy agencies began scouring intelligence data for possible clues.
The information was offset by other intelligence suggesting the possibility that Russia was responsible. Separate intelligence, for example, showed that Russian naval vessels were detected at or near the locations of the attack in the weeks leading up to the explosions.
The jury is still out but, for me, there are only two ‘hot’ protagonists in this conflict……and only one had the technical equipment and capabilities to carry this operation out……and those equipments, capabilities were in a position to carry out the operation only days before Nord Stream was destroyed.
Walter Reuther knew a thing or two…..
I’m not sure you will get what I am going to say here..but…you always think everyone here is pro-Russia..when actually I think we are trying to be neutral and navigate through the different opinions we are reading.
Not one commentator here thinks the Ukrainians did this…but you…(Ukrainian propagandised and totally full of Russophobia) have to challenge the official reports that are telling you they don’t think Russia did it…you have your reasons..but they seem to have nothing to do with proof or reality of what is actually being said….
Just saying……
I have to ask cui bono? I can only see one player who is making a profit out of the action, and they don’t write in Cyrillic.
Is the world going crazy. Why on earth would Germany blow up the nordstream pipe apparatus. We all know the USA is fully capable of doing this. Is the daily sceptic becoming a liberal sceptic. Too much noise daily sceptic. Stick with what you know.
The idea that Ukraine blew up the NS pipeline is laughable. I simply don’t see how you can take a non-partisan view like that. Seymour Hersh’s research has been fully corroborated and added to in the article below and to think a bunch of Ukrainians in a pleasure boat could pull this off is frankly ridiculous. The discovery of Bulgarian passports and explosives in the boat is also absurd- shades of 9/11 anyone? This is classic gatekeeper journalism.
https://21stcenturywire.com/2023/04/25/secret-team-the-nord-stream-pipeline-sabotage-revisited/
Laughable nonsense. US did it and have barely tried to cover it up..