German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) quoted former Danish intelligence analyst Jakob Kaarsbo as saying that the Danish army currently has 122 photos of 6 Russian ships appearing near Nord Stream just 4 days before the explosion in September 2022.
Some politicians and experts believe that the German Federal Prosecutor's Nord Stream investigation is focusing too much on the Ukrainian investigation. They argue that the Ukrainian assumptions regarding the sabotage of the gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea are inconsistent, while there is evidence leaning towards Russia. " Moscow has a motive," Konrad Schuller said.
The stance of the German Federal Prosecutor's Office, presented at the German parliamentary justice committee meeting on October 8, has caused controversy. The agency insists it is investigating only Ukraine, excluding Russia from the suspect.
Notably, two Ukrainian citizens suspected of being involved in the Nord Stream explosion were arrested in the EU, one in Poland and the other in Italy. However, the Polish court rejected the request to extradite the suspect to Germany and released him.
The Polish court stated that, even if the suspect is involved, the act of targeting a country's critical infrastructure that started the conflict is not sabotage, but a military act, a tactical sabotage, and cannot be considered a crime.
Meanwhile, an Italian court has approved the extradition of Ukrainian Nord Stream suspect to Germany. The suspect's lawyers have appealed twice but have been unsuccessful.
Expert Jakob Kaarsbo pointed out that among the 122 photos of 6 Russian ships appearing near the Nord Stream explosion area that the Danish military is holding, there is the SS-750 ship of Project 141, carrying a mini-submarine.
Ship under Project 141 are support ships for underwater activities, often performing tasks such as anchoring, placing buoys, clearing waterways, salvaging or rescuing Submarine ships. The SS-750 was converted into a rescue ship in 1995.
A research team from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, also confirmed this. The group has satellite images showing the presence of Russian ships, including the SS-750, near the Nord Stream explosion site.
The report also stated that performing precise dives at a depth of 80 meters as in the Nord Stream explosion was an extremely complex task and unlikely to be done by a small yacht. A ship like the SS-750 is much more suitable for this type of operation.
The RTL also noted that Diana B, who is suspected of being involved in renting the Andromeda to a group of Ukrainian sabotage suspects, has a Russian passport, lives in Crimea, has attended pro-Russian events and posted photos of her travel in Russia on social media.
Expert Jakob Kaarsbo is leaning towards the possibility that the journey of the Andromeda cruise ship that the Ukrainian group is traveling may be just a well-prepared cover. The yacht was still going to sea, but the main task was carried out by a cluster of Russian ships at the time of the explosion.
According to him, Russia has a strong motive: Avoiding paying huge compensation. In the summer of 2022, Russia restricted gas transit via the Nord Stream gas pipeline, then completely cut it off at the end of August. Gazprom's customers in Germany, such as Uniper, had the right to demand large compensation at that time. Uniper confirmed that it had won 13 billion euros in compensation at the Stockholm Referee Court.
