GermanyReports: Arrest warrant obtained after Nord Stream attacks
SDA
14.8.2024 - 08:43
ARCHIVE - "Federal Public Prosecutor General at the Federal Supreme Court" is written on a sign at the entrance to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office building. According to media reports, an arrest warrant has been obtained in the Nord Stream attacks case. Photo: Christoph Schmidt/dpa
Keystone
According to media reports, an arrest warrant has now been issued in the case of the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea almost two years ago. This has been obtained by the Federal Public Prosecutor General in Germany at the Federal Court of Justice, reported Die Zeit, ARD and the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
14.08.2024, 08:43
14.08.2024, 08:44
SDA
According to these reports, the suspect is a Ukrainian whose last place of residence is said to have been in Poland. According to the reports, he has since gone into hiding. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office could not initially be reached for comment.
The two gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 were damaged and interrupted by several explosions on September 26, 2022. The explosions were registered near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and four leaks were discovered shortly afterwards in three of the four Nord Stream pipelines. Russian natural gas had previously flowed to Germany through Nord Stream 1.
Nord Stream 2 was not yet in operation due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the subsequent political disputes. The authorities in several countries began investigating the case. However, Denmark and Sweden have since discontinued the proceedings. Several speculations about the perpetrators circulated for a long time.
Other suspects
According to research by the three media outlets, two other Ukrainian nationals are also suspected of the crime - including a woman. According to the report, they were involved in the attacks. They could have been divers who planted the explosive devices on the pipelines, the report continued. The information now published is also based on "information from a foreign intelligence service".
Previous investigations had focused on a sailing yacht on which traces of explosives were discovered in July 2023. It was suspected that the "Andromeda" may have been used to transport the explosives for the sabotage.