“All the evidence points to Kyiv” regarding the destruction of Germany’s Nord Stream gas pipelines, a joint investigation has reportedly found.
Undertaken by German news outlets ZDF and Der Spiegel, both have concluded that the Ukrainian Government was probably responsible for the destruction of the essential fossil-fuel energy channel.
According to a write-up penned by the latter news organisation, German security officials appear to have “few remaining doubts” that Kyiv was responsible for the incident.
“Investigators are certain that the saboteurs were in Ukraine before and after the attack,” the magazine said, adding that German authorities now know “far more” about the attack than has been stated publicly.
It is unclear whether senior-ranking officials within Kyiv knew about the attack, with some said to be speculating that Ukraine’s military intentionally kept President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the dark regarding the plot in an effort to limit the possibility of international retaliation.
A senior German minister has lashed out at his own intelligence services for failing to foresee Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. https://t.co/p0v1fOiaj1
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 24, 2023
German journalists also reportedly uncovered evidence that the German Government had been tipped off about the attack by both Dutch and American spy agencies, with a warning about the Ukrainian action even being handed to the Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s office.
Such intelligence was reportedly ignored by Social Democratic Party leader Scholz, with the memos being dismissed as “incorrect”.
Scholz’s office is said to have not informed his own cabinet regarding the warnings, with insiders reportedly claiming that the first minister to find out about the attack, Robert Habeck, was taken completely off-guard by the news.
Meanwhile, a German investigation into the attacks is said to be progressing slowly due to a lack of political will.
Although government officials are not said to be actively sabotaging the probe, ministers have been reticent to resource it, with many in Berlin fearing the ramifications of Ukraine being found responsible for the act.
The inquiry is being strictly monitored from the German chancellery, with the body’s head Wolfgang Schmidt said to be maintaining “intensive contact” with investigators.
In total, about 500,000 troops have either been killed or injured since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US officials have claimed. https://t.co/ou2ogElzCn
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 22, 2023
Despite the apparent evidence, some within the German Government still believe that Russia was behind the attack and that the operation’s links to Ukraine may be some sort of plot to undermine Western support for the country.
This is only one of many alternative theories floating around regarding the destruction of the pipeline, with the likes of the US and Poland also being accused.
International opinion as a whole appears to be drifting towards Ukraine being the culprit, with the US said to have circulated a memo to its allies blaming the country for the attack.
One of the most cited reasons for the alleged Ukrainian action was to undermine the hold Moscow had over Germany last year, with the European Union state remaining reliant upon Russian gas exports despite Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
If Ukraine follows through on ending a gas transit agreement with Russia, Serbia has promised to provide Hungary with increased supplies of Russian natural gas. https://t.co/7yBE6yJE1x
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 21, 2023
