Top German Investigator: No Proof of Russian Involvement in Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts
Initial German investigation concluded that powerful undersea blasts likely caused by “highly effective explosive devices” and done by “state actors.”
After months of forensic investigation, German investigators have found no evidence of Russian involvement in last September’s blasts that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
Germany’s Federal Prosecutor General, who is leading the official probe into the blasts, said in a newspaper interview published on Friday that there is no evidence tying Russia to the undersea explosions near the coast of Denmark.
“According to investigators, the probe into the blowing up of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea has thus far not yielded any evidence of Russia’s authorship,” the German newspaper Münchner Merkur reported Friday, citing the country’s top investigator.
The German news channel NTV reported the Prosecutor General’s remarks:
When blasts hit the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines last September, Moscow was quickly seen as a suspect. Now the investigators are clarifying that there is no evidence of this so far. (…)
So far, German investigators have found no evidence that Russia was behind the explosions that hit the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines. “This cannot be proven at the moment, the investigations are ongoing,” Prosecutor General Peter Frank told the (newspaper) “Welt am Sonntag”. Supported by two research ships, water and soil samples as well as the remains of the pipelines were collected, and the crime scene was also comprehensively documented. “We are currently evaluating all of this forensically,” [the German Public Prosecutor added.]
The official German investigation was launched in October after a preliminary probe pointed to sabotage. The initial German findings in early October suggested that the explosions were likely caused by “highly effective explosive devices” and may have been carried out by “state actors.” Western leaders and the mainstream media blamed Russia for blowing up its own multi-billion dollar pipeline.
The damage to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which ran under the Baltic Sea, crippled Russia’s ability to supply natural gas to Germany and western Europe. Before the Ukraine war started in late February 2022, Russia accounted for almost 40 percent of Germany’s natural gas imports. The Nord Stream pipelines are joint German-Russia projects that took billions to construct. The Nord Stream 2, which was completed in the winter of 2021, alone was built at a cost of 11 billion euros.
With cheap Russian gas imports drying out, Germany and many European countries are in the midst of an energy crisis. The German government has rationed gas and power supplies, forcing cities across Germany to cut down on heating and street lighting this winter.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, faces “de-industrialization,” media reports say. German public broadcaster ARD warned recently that “according to a study, massive surge in gas prices may lead to the de-industrialization of German and Europe.”
(Excerpts from German news reports translated by the author)
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Comments
That’s odd. I thought the Brits were to blame.
Indeed, now that we have been told the Brits don’t have enough ammo to last a day against Russia. As long as the pipelines existed Europe could go “wobbly”. Who is most invested in Ukraine… or shall I say …who is most invested and being blackmailed by Ukraine. Ask Joe.
But their Special Air Service might do that kind of work today?
The SAS is still a superb fighting force (crossed fingers). But logistics still relies on the regular Royal Navy and Army. I can see a joint operation with US but the Brits alone? This is sub based and do Brit subs have the planned capabilities of the US subs? That is where knowing what assets the US had counts… but wrapped in secrecy. Who really really wants to take down the Russians? I can only see a Dem/Deep State entity.
Makes good sense.
The Special AIR Service? I could understand if you had fingered the Special BOAT Service instead.
The most likely suspect is Ukraine. The pipelines were a weapon that Russia was using to force Europeans to stop supporting Ukraine in the war with Russia. Now that the pipelines are destroyed Russia’s ability to use shutting off the flow of gas to Europe is eliminated.
If we had pictures of the damage site we could tell if the explosion was from inside or outside the pipelines.
We should offer them help from our Supreme Court Police investigators.
Of course the Russians didn’t blow up their own pipeline. This is absurd.
I have been saying all along there is only one team on Earth whose expertise is on underwater demolitions who could have done this; the Navy SEALs. And, we have a sorry thief of a president saying publicly that he would use any means to blow up the pipeline as an affront to the Russians. Abd lo and behold, the pipelin3 was blown up by “state actors”.
Of course, no Euro country will say this because to admit that the United States did this would be to start WWIII proper.
Yeah, the notion that Russia blew up their own pipeline is so absurd that it beggars belief that even a mental midget like Joe Biden* would try to gaslight us with it.
With the pipeline in place Russia could decide to a) make a ton of money selling gas to Europe or b) close the valve and hold Europe hostage. With the pipeline blown they have no choice at all.
So who blew it up? The obvious answer is that the Joe Biden* neo-con puppet-masters did it. They never saw a war they didn’t like.
Russia has dedicated units and equipment for seafloor sabotage. I’ve never even heard anyone claim that SEALs have seafloor capabilities before.
The only thing more absurd than Russia blowing its’ pipeline is someone else doing it.
Biden’s speech only referred to NS2 and was in reference to diplomatic negotiations. NS2 was never certified so the goal of shutting down NS2 was already achieved.
In order to be admitted to the Navy SEALS you have to undergo rigorous training through BUDs. Do you know what BUDs is an acronym for? Basic Underwater and Demolitions SEAL. The SEALs are trained specifically to engage in this kind of warfare.
Also, the Dutch and the Germans have already determined the pipeline was sabotaged through unnatural. It is absurd to that you still believe this was a natural phenomenon. It wasn’t. And I stand by my assertion the only country who did this was the United States.
And lastly, I don’t care what you think Biden was referring to. The fact he opened his mouth and said anything about stopping either pipeline should remove all doubt for you.
How long are you stupid Americans going to continue being stupid? And yeah, I’m American but I ain’t stupid.
BASIC underwater demolition. If this had occurred in a harbor SEALs would be a reasonable accusation, but the sabotage occurred at a depth of 70-90 meters.
I’ve never even heard anyone claim that SEALs have seafloor capabilities before.
Jocko Willink on The Joe Rogan Experience w/in a couple weeks of the Big Badda-Boom.
No evidence of Russian authorship, fine. Any evidence of
anyone’s authorship?
The initial German findings in early October suggested that the explosions were likely caused by “highly effective explosive devices” and may have been carried out by “state actors.”
And the Jerries say there’s no “proof” the, to quote George Patton, Mongoloid Russians did it.
Well, there’s proof enough for me.
“Mongoloid Russians”
I have always loved that term and use it often. Granted it fit the USSR better but it will do now. Especially to low ranking Red Army officers way back then.
Patton , my man, very much verbally like President Trump
They both fought, just like Grant, and that’s why the left hated all 3 and the pansy so
Called right
They simply fought for us… something inexcusable
Patton wanted to invade Soviet Russia.
Patton wanted to push the Russians back to Russia, which is not “wanted to invade Soviet Russia”.
Instead, half of Europe remained a gigantic prison, thanks to the Russians, for half a century.
Isn’t that the current coal? Russia back to Russia?
Born and bred in the Cold War. Please don’t throw me back.
“thanks to the Russians,”
thanks to the Soviet regime, perhaps?
@Petrushka:
“Please don’t throw me back.”
Do you consider yourself an American? Or a Russian, the Rodina, etc.?
Because, if you’re an American, the probability of your being “thrown back” to Russia is the same as me being thrown back to Sicily, i.e., zero.
Yes he did cause he knew what they would become but no one wanted to extend the War, too many had died
Your right, he wanted to push them
Back to Russia, instead many millions suffered at their Iron Curtain
Not “invade”
Would the Chinese military have had an angle?
That said, my money’s still on “our” military.
Definitely our military
Makes no sense the Chinese would kneecap Russia like that.
Plus it would be difficult for them to get a team into that area undetected. That area is one of the most heavily watched areas on the planet because of it’s location being sandwiched between NATO and the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War.
I thought that Russia’s economy was going gangbusters despite sanctions because they were selling gas and oil to China instead of Europe. That sounds like motive for China (or Russia) to me.
China and India buy Russian oil and natural gas at a steep discount. Some oil, particularly Arctic crude, is sold at 9 dollars below Brent crude.
Current sanctions are directed primarily at preventing the direct sale/import of technology from the US/EU?NATO. However, there is a gray market. Technology is purchased from Western companies in neutral countries and re-exported to Russia. Some re-exporters are Russian fronts.
The only way to slow down this flow would be to place secondary sanctions. That is a diplomatic minefield that could rupture relations on diplomatic, economic-trade, and military alliances.
The Russian propaganda I’m being subjected to elsewhere is that due to the sanctions Russia’s economy is doing great because they’re supplying China instead of the West while we’re going into a recession. I was just taking a dig at that.
It’s not much of a mystery. The pedophile-in-chief foreshadowed it, then practically admitted to it.
A pipeline pressurized but not being used develops its own destructive chemistry, somebody said a while back. In which case nobody blew it up.
That’s true.
What’s also true is that two Russian vessels, a week before the explosions, had approached the pipeline and disabled their AIS [automatic identification system], the better to “go dark” as they then hovered over the pipeline.
If they were concerned about what you mentioned, they’d have simply put the pipeline back into minimal operation.
But that wasn’t their concern or objective.
Pretty sure this is exactly what Germany is now saying didn’t happen.
So, how many of these pipelines could have been built with the aid we have given to Ukraine?
I am truly confused by the comparison. I am also truly confused by the implication that Europe would be better off if more dependent on (and therefore controllable by) Russia.
You don’t see the connection between the pipeline and the Ukraine conflict? It’s destruction represented the loss of the largest leverage that could be used to stop the flow of war material into Ukraine. We could build several of these pipelines for the cost of this proxy war so far. It is absolutely insane how much money flows into the pockets of our arms manufacturers.
I get the potential connections between the invasion of Ukraine and the pipelines. What I don’t understand and you didn’t answer is what the cost of the pipeline has to do with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Lithuanian and Swedish civilian contractors laying energy cables across the Baltic Sea were routinely harassed by Russian warships. Why would Russia do such a thing? Can’t blame Biden since this all happened 2014-15ish.
Determined to become free of Rus energy Lithuania built a LNG port. Poland, the Baltic nations and Finland layed more sea cable. The Russians don’t like being cut out. Because the Rus are iriidentists and think former vassals are their b’tches. Forever.
Nobody will ever destroy their leverage.
This is surprising to nobody, and while you could legitimately question the policy of us supporting Ukraine we said if Vladimir Putin invaded we would destroy his multi-decade investment and we did exactly that. The United States carries out threats all the time this is nothing new at all.
Unfortunately unlike foreign presidents who saw that America can keep to its threats we have to contend with seeing something fundamentally uglier.
We saw that the United States government will issue propaganda to its citizens, that the United States Media is in the tank for the government and not to be trusted and that both will be using the “MUH FOREIGN TRAITOR” towards anybody who questions official lying propaganda no matter how absurd that propaganda is.
So towards foreigners we see the United States government needs to be listened to but we also got to see they will lie to our faces and our media instead of having an agenda of finding the truth will also lie.
United States has carried out threats before I don’t care that much about the actual incident (again happens all the time).
What I find alarming is it took almost nothing for the entire press apparatus to parrot an absurd U.S. Government propaganda line with all the loyalty of Pravda to Stalin.
I am also alarmed that the United States will instead of offering it’s people a say in if an escalation is appropriate by being honest about it will actively lie to us and use accusations of disloyalty to silence critics who point out the narrative makes no sense.
While this is an essentially minor thing on its own the implications for a march towards authoritarianism is massive. Tucker Carlson was publicly accused of being a Russian agent for questioning this narrative that Russia destroyed it’s own pipeline (which never made any sense and there was never any evidence for).
And it got worse after 9-11.
You and I agree 100% on that point.
“Moscow was quickly seen as a suspect.”
CAUTION: McDonald’s Hot Red Herring is
hotred.Only if the party agrees it is so comrade, just wait for the next press release comrade reporters will force the public to believe it the hot red herring is not red!
First, Russia did not destroy its’ leverage. NS2 was still operational. (Each pipeline is actually a pair of pipes and, conveniently, only one of the NS2 pipes was destroyed.) Operational certification for NS2 had been refused and this INCREASED the leverage to certify it.
Second, Russia had voluntary shut down gas deliveries so there was little or no leverage lost by destroying the pipes if they didn’t expect Europe to succumb to energy blackmail without a scare.
Third, destruction of the pipes allowed Russia to play the victim and blame others. This makes it a trade of one kind of leverage (energy blackmail) for another (propaganda.)
I have no mirror into your soul, I can not tell if that propagandistic screed that had not even one iota of truth in any of it could be because you have a need to believe in the United States government and it’s pravda allies or if you genuinely believe there is something that isn’t nonsense there but lets go over point by point.
1. You are correct Russia did not destroy it’s leverage because it did not sabotage it’s own pipeline!!!!!! If it had yes it would have destroyed it’s leverage. Reducing your ability to produce the goods undermines the buyers desire to get the goods from you. If the market did not have fixed rules the Soviet Russian Empire would still be around.
2. No it did not increase Russia’s leverage it destroyed it.
3. Certification for an unreliable partner is significantly less likely. Goes for every foreign relationship. Most definitely applies in this case.
4. Russia didn’t voluntarily shut down it was forced to by sanctions. Russia will never give away anything for free. Neither will the United States. Neither will Germany. Neither will Italy. Neither will Japan. Neither will Mexico. Neither will anyone. The EU was insisting on financial sanctions that prevent Russia from using Euros while also only paying in Euros. Reacting by reducing your ABILITY to deliver goods does not increase leverage to pay in something usable.
5. Russia has at least so far not blackmailed Europe. It has been blackmailed by Europe. It has been issued ultimatums to accept that during the sanctions it should still accept payments in Euros (a.k.a give it away for free). Again no nation will ever give it’s goods away for free. It has also been subject to Europe price fixing the price they are willing to pay to below market prices. You say it is justified? Well lets talk about the policy not create a fantasy world that doesn’t actually exist. Where you lose me isn’t saying we should back Ukraine where you lose me is use of propagandistic lies because you don’t trust me to come to what you consider the right conclusion. Like most free citizens I detest government having propaganda and control over the media as the US government has.
6. Russia was the victim. After we told them that an invasion of the Ukraine would be followed by our destruction of their pipeline we did exactly that.
Germany found the obvious.
Joe Biden issued a threat and carried it out. That is called international diplomacy 101 that you can’t make all of your threats toothless.
Russia had no motive to do this, and suffered a great deal as a result.
Ukraine is victim of Russian invasion, Russia is a victim of our reaction to it including sanctions and an attack on it’s pipeline.
Tucker Carlson was 100% right, and frankly I’m shocked anyone would defend the development.
Use of “MUH YOUR A TRAITOR” is ugly vile and disgusting 100% of the time, and justifiable 0% of the time. Use of propaganda in a free society that isn’t at war is also vile and disgusting. Control of the media to the point all the media does is back the government is suited for Soviet Russia not the United States of America.
If you love the flag you really do need to make a policy of enough is enough. It is an authoritarian thing for government to issue a memo than the entire media follows it, and the more obvious the lie (as it was this time) the worst an indictment it is. It isn’t our tradition, it isn’t what made America what it is today, and it is unmaking America to have that.
“Russia is a victim of our reaction to” their invasion of Ukraine.
Wow! Your moral compass is broken. That like calling it murder when a bank robber in shot by an armed customer.
Here’s a couple of examples for you:
From 2019:
Natural gas standoff between Russia and Ukraine leaves Europe on edge
Polish President Andrej Duda said: “We have our experiences with Russia, we have also been observing the experiences of Ukraine, against which the reduction of gas supplies has been used as a weapon.”
And from last year “due to equipment issues” falsely blamed on sanctions:
Wikipedia
The company shut down the pipeline for 10 days because of maintenance and claimed the reduction was due to a repaired turbine in Montréal, Canada, that could not be delivered due to sanctions against Russia. The German government denied this claim and believed there was no reason for reducing the flow.
On 2 September 2022, the company announced that natural gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would remain shut off indefinitely until the main gas turbine at the Portovaya compressor station near St Petersburg was fixed due to an engine oil leak.[60] Gazprom justified this by claiming that European Union sanctions against Russia had resulted in technical problems, preventing it from providing the full volume of contracted gas through the pipeline; Siemens Energy, which maintains the turbine, rejected this and stated that there are no legal obstacles to its provision of maintenance for the pipeline.
You inserted a lot of fantasy into your reading of my post. I did not call you a traitor or write a “propagandistic screed” or whatever that rant about US media was about.
A flower blooms in the Slavic Spring.
My money is still on Russian pipeline maintenance. Having a hydrate plug get loose and smash into a bend is a good sign that you’re not doing things right, and the Russians are experts in that.
In three of the four lines, enough to cause seismic events?
It must be getting awfully cold in Germany. I bet that Russian gas would help.
It definitely is a cause for concern that this study comes out of Germany, whose biases in this issue we understand well. It would be better for it to come from a different nation, whose biases we are blissfully unaware of.
Nope, it’s not. We’re even further East (In Slovakia) and we’re having our first cold snap of 2023, all 3 days of it, then its back to the mid 40’s (F) drifting into the mid 50’s.AND it’s just the start of FEBRUARY!
Given Germany’s reticence to oppose Russia/support Ukraine, perfectly illustrated by their only recently reversed decision to block Leopard tank deliveries, I wouldn’t believe any official German claim that Russia wasn’t involved.
In any case “no evidence” means nothing. No matter which nation did it I would expect the culprit to use somebody else’s equipment and explosives for the sabotage.
Oh so the billions in things besides tanks don’t count all of a sudden? Only tanks win wars?
Either you are playing world of tanks to addiction and genuinely believe that or you are ignorant of actual German policy because I just went to the Bund’s website detailing equipment sent to Ukraine already and anyone who thinks Germany isn’t helping…..
Thousands of anti-tank and anti-helicopter weapons, field hospitals, bullets, shells, spare parts for high tech weaponry like Ukraine’s helicopter fleet (including the mothballed helicopters that Ukraine got into the air after neglecting for decades coincidence that Germany sent the spare parts for them? Unlikely), shells (both sides casualties would be negligible without artillery) anti-drone weaponry I could go on.
Germany by the way doesn’t have a vast tank fleet, the idea of Germany as this massive stockpile of tanks is based on association of Germany with blitzkrieg not the number of vehicles it currently owns.
Germany has been sending equipment to Ukraine despite the fact that it’s own army is short on equipment.
I don’t know about you but I don’t think anybody calls that supporting Russia.
The Leopard tanks was an example. You are apparently unaware that many other countries DO have large stocks of Leopard tanks and that Germany was actively prohibiting those stocks from being provided to Ukraine. This authorization should have been granted in March 2022, but Germany blocked them until 2023!
When ranked by amount of aid given, relative to country size, Germany is ranked quite near the bottom.
I call actively preventing other countries from supplying Ukraine while providing little themselves support for Russia.
What about relative to what it has?
Germany has an army that is underequipped.
Relative to what Ukraine needs by the way.
Helicopters that have been mothballed for years with almost no maintenance need spare parts (thanks Germany)
Men need bullets (thanks Germany)
Russian artillerymen use drones (thanks for the anti-drone technology Germany)
Of course Germany prefers other peoples tanks get destroyed. A single destroyed leopard tank means countless cancelled sales.
A T72 (including the T90) variant is cheap. A Leopard 2 (of any variant) isn’t. Seeing them destroyed would lead nations to ask “what am I paying for”.
It isn’t that Germany was being anti-Ukraine by saying “except German tanks” it was being pro-Germany.
What it has provided Ukraine is essential, and it didn’t have to provide Ukraine with anything.
“Germany sucks because they don’t have much of anything to give to Ukraine” is not really an improvement over “Germany refuses to send much of anything to Ukraine.” That argument highlights a multi-decade of failure not a temporary one.
“Of course Germany prefers other peoples tanks get destroyed. A single destroyed leopard tank means countless cancelled sales.” You’re implying the Leopard is a terrible tank and proof of it’s poor performance will ruin future sales. I see it the other way around. The Leopard is a good tank, far better than the ex-Soviet junk that is costing Ukrainian lives, but the limitations of relying on Germany to authorize their use will lead militaries to cancel German equipment orders.
Do you understand the meaning behind the phrase “Damning with faint praise”? That is what Germany is doing.
Why are they wasting time fingering Russia when everyone knows Lichtenstein did it?
Who really gives a sh!t???? The European winter has been exceptionally mild, our 7th mild winter in a row (Thank you global warming). Natural gas reserves are close to 90% full….still…., oil prices are dropping daily, Germany just docked its THIRD LNG terminal, so has Belgium and the Netherlands, NG is flowing into Central Europe from those.. Russia is phuxxxxxxed!
not surprised there is little to no evidence of “state actors” –much more likely, given the available evidence (or lack thereof), was an act of “industrial espionage/sabotage”–many of the trappings of an inside job particularly as would be logical as to proximity/opportunity–some tailored version of a fuel-air weapon would produce near-identical results and with virtually miniscule to zero residue
would be looking closely at contractors/operators/suppliers
My money is on space aliens. Armed with inter-galactic submarines of course.