A recent report alleges that Polish officials may have obstructed the ongoing investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in 2022.
Signs purportedly point to a pro-Ukrainian group being responsible for destroying the twin pipelines that carried natural gas from Russia to Germany. The attack may have been launched from Ukraine, with Poland being used as an operating base, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Investigators believe the sabotage was carried out by a crew of six — five men and one woman — aboard a luxury yacht called Andromeda. The vessel contained traces of the same type of explosive used to blow up the pipeline. Polish officials inspected the crew’s passports after they drew suspicion from port authorities on September 19, 2022, around the time of the sabotage.
However, Polish authorities did not disclose this information until March 2023 and only did so after Germany applied pressure on the Polish government. Investigators said there is still no evidence of Polish or Ukrainian government involvement in the destruction of the pipeline but called Poland’s refusal to fully disclose information suspicious.
According to the report, the Andromeda docked in Germany, Poland, Russia, and Denmark. GPS tracking data and cell phone records show the vessel traveled into the areas where the pipelines were sabotaged, stopping for several hours nearby. Polish officials gave conflicting reports of when the vessel docked in the country and did not disclose the presence of explosive residue.
Ukraine is considered a likely player in the sabotage due to its ongoing war with Russian forces, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Ukraine views the pipeline as a source of financial resources and political clout that undermines efforts to expel the Russian military from Ukraine.
Former Polish security services leader Stanislaw Zaryn claimed the saboteurs were Russian rather than Ukrainian. No arrests have been announced, and the names of the individuals on the Andromeda have not been disclosed.