Danish police raid yacht which may have carried explosives used to blow up Nord Stream – after bombshell report claimed pro-Ukraine commando unit carried out attack on Russian gas pipelines
- Police searched for yacht on a Christiansö island near Nord Stream blast sites
- Came as report claimed pro-Ukraine commando unit carried out attack
Danish police have searched for a yacht on the tiny Baltic Sea island of Christiansö near the Nord Stream pipeline blast sites, officials said on Thursday.
German authorities confirmed on Wednesday they had raided a ship in January that may have been used to transport explosives used to blow up the pipelines.
Soren Thiim Andersen, the island of Christiansö’s top boss, said: ‘The police was searching for a specific boat that had moored here in September.’
The September 26 explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines, constructed to supply Russian natural gas to Europe, have become a flashpoint between the West and Russia after last year’s Russian invasion of Ukraine.
International investigators said the explosions were deliberate and a bombshell report claimed a pro-Ukraine commando unit carried out the attack on the Russian gas pipelines.
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline leak as seen from a Danish F-16 on September 27, 2022
Danish police have searched for a yacht on the tiny Baltic Sea island of Christianso, near the Nord Stream pipeline blast sites
The September 26 explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines, constructed to supply Russian natural gas to Europe, have become a flashpoint between the West and Russia after last year’s Russian invasion of Ukraine
Germany’s ARD broadcaster and Zeit newspaper reported that German authorities were able to identify a boat used for the sabotage operation.
The operation to place explosives on the seabed was carried out by six people, who sailed from Rostock, on September 6, and was later located on the Danish island of Christiansö, according to the reports.
Danish police in January searched for information about boats that had docked on Christiansö on September 16-18, interviewing local residents, collecting footage from the harbour, and collected information from the harbour ticket machine, Andersen said.
A six-person commando unit reportedly used a yacht rented from a Ukrainian company to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines last September.
Soren Thiim Andersen (pictured), the island of Christiansö’s top boss, said: ‘The police was searching for a specific boat that had moored here in September’
German minister Boris Pistorius (pictured) cautioned against reports a pro-Ukraine group was involved
Research by the broadcasters ARD and SWR, Contrast magazine, and Die Zeit newspaper concluded that five men and a woman rented a yacht in Rostock, Germany, on September 6, 2022, which they used to destroy the gas pipelines on September 26.
The yacht was reportedly hired from a company registered in Poland that was owned by two Ukrainian citizens, Die Zeit reported.
READ MORE: Commando unit of five men and a woman with forged passports used a yacht hired by a Ukrainian-owned company in Poland to carry out Nord Stream attack, report claims
The team included a captain, two divers, two diving assistants and a doctor – all with professionally faked passports and all as yet unnamed.
Investigators were said to have found particles of explosives on the yacht’s cabin table, as the attackers did not have time to cover their tracks.
Germany’s defence minister today voiced caution over reports that the pro-Ukraine group of six was involved in destroying the pipelines, suggesting a potential ‘false flag’ operation – which Die Zeit acknowledged was still a possibility.
The Times reported today that Western intelligence had known for months the name of an alleged Ukrainian sponsor who is supposed to have financed the sabotage of the pipelines.
The publication wrote that an unnamed Ukrainian without state affiliation sponsored the attack.
The Times said that NATO officials hid the names of those involved to save Ukraine from a public row with Germany.
Ukraine previously denied any involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline blast after US officials said a ‘pro-Kyiv’ group were behind the explosion.
A senior aide to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that Kyiv was ‘absolutely not involved’ in the blasts and has no information about what happened.
Christiansö is part of a small archipelago about 18 km northeast of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm.
The archipelago with just 98 inhabitants is a former naval fortress but remains under administration of the Danish defence ministry.
Danish police declined to comment.
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