German government warns against ‘hasty conclusions’ over Nord Stream blasts

BERLIN

Germany on Wednesday warned against “hasty conclusions” over the Nord Stream gas pipeline blasts and called on the public to wait for the result of the official investigation.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters that they are closely following recent media reports on the possible perpetrators of the explosions, but she also urged caution.

“First we have to wait for the result of the investigation by the competent authorities. As the government, we can make an assessment on the basis of these findings, we cannot draw hasty conclusions from media reports,” she said during her visit to Erbil, northern Iraq.

German media reported on Tuesday that investigators uncovered evidence that showed a pro-Ukrainian group was behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year.

The group, made up of five men and one woman, traveled to the northern German city of Rostock in September 2022, rented a yacht using fake passports, and sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines, public broadcaster ARD and daily Die Zeit reported.

The yacht used in the operation was rented by a company based in Poland, which was apparently owned by two Ukrainians, according to the investigators.

The suspects used professionally forged passports, and German authorities could not yet verify their real identities and nationalities.

The investigators found traces of explosives in the cabin of the yacht during forensic examinations.

Authorities confirm searching suspected ship

The German Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed on Wednesday that investigators searched a ship in mid-January on suspicion that it was used to transport the explosives to blow up the pipelines.

The ship was rented by a Polish company, a spokesperson of the Prosecutor’s Office told ARD, adding that the German owners of the ship were not suspected of being involved in the plans.

The spokesperson declined to give any further information, stressing that the investigation was still ongoing to identify the perpetrators and their motive.

Ukraine denies any involvement

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied any involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline blasts after the recent media reports.

“Ukraine has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea mishap and has no information about ‘pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups’,” he said on Twitter.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also warned against drawing premature conclusions based on media reports and stressed that people should wait for the result of the investigations.

“We have to make a clear distinction whether it was a Ukrainian group that acted on the orders of Ukraine, or whether it was a pro-Ukrainian group that acted without the knowledge of the government,” he told reporters ahead of an informal meeting of EU defense ministers in Stockholm.

Pistorius said some experts also suggested that it could have been a “false flag” operation to link the attack to Ukraine.

The Nord Stream pipelines were sabotaged last September, and explosions caused extensive damage to the pipelines connecting Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea.