Nord Stream pipeline leaks: Germany reveals boat raid

The gas leak from the Nord Stream gas pipelines observed in the Baltic Sea, Tuesday September 27, 2022. © Danish Defense Command via AP

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In Germany, the investigation is moving forward five months after the explosion of the Nord Stream I and II pipelines, on September 26, gas pipelines which linked Russia to Germany and which are now unusable.

On Wednesday March 8, the prosecution in charge of the case made certain elements public.

A boat was searched in January.

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Did this boat allow the transport of explosives and with them the crew who carried out the act of sabotage?

This is the question posed by the German investigators at the end of their search, reports our correspondent in Berlin,

For the time being, no answer has been provided, but the fact that the prosecution communicates on its investigation is in itself a novelty.

Since the explosion of these gas pipelines, very few details have been provided on the progress of their work.

If the German public prosecutor's office gives some information, it is however under pressure from the media.

This week, the American daily

published an investigation which implicates a pro-Ukrainian group in this sabotage.

In the process, three German media provided details, in particular on this famous boat: it would have been rented by a company which apparently belonged to two Ukrainians.

This boat would have set sail in early September in northern Germany, heading for Denmark with six people on board.

Traces of explosives were found there.

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The sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Europe has become a central mystery of the war in Ukraine.

Now, new reporting has provided the first significant known lead about who was responsible.

Listen to today's episode of The Daily.https://t.co/uVBfdKo7Vl

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 8, 2023

A case at the heart of geopolitical tensions

If this information were proven, it remains to be seen who would really hide behind this team.

The track of a pro-Ukrainian group raised an outcry in kyiv on Wednesday March 8.

Ukraine denies any direct or indirect involvement with this act of sabotage.

Since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the two gas pipelines have been at the heart of geopolitical tensions, stoked after Moscow's decision to cut off gas supplies to Europe in alleged retaliation for Western sanctions. .

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