Danish military analyst Anders Puck Nielsen has doubts about current theories of sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines. Are pro-Ukrainian groups really behind this? “The story raises several questions,” the analyst says in an interview with ” Ntv “. “Mostly practical aspects, such as the fact that such an action is quite a demanding task.”
Nielsen continues: “Most experts probably agree that such an attack must have been the work of a state actor, not the action of a private group of saboteurs who simply rent a boat in Rostock.”
Is US behind Nord Stream sabotage? “There is no proportionality”
The USA, Nielsen suspects, could be ruled out as a client. “There is simply no proportionality between possible profits and risks,” explains the Dane to “Ntv”. “No more gas flowed to Germany through Nord Stream 1, Nord Stream 2 never went into operation. A possible benefit of the blast was therefore small from the point of view of the USA. The risk of jeopardizing cohesion in NATO was all the greater.”
Similarly, the military analyst argues why, in his opinion, Ukraine is not behind the sabotage: “Again, the possible motive is disproportionate to the risks. Ukraine is extremely dependent on Germany for arms and ammunition.”
Expert sees two motives for Russia to sabotage the pipelines
At the same time, there is much to be said for a Russian operation. “In September, when the pipeline was blown up, Russia was betting that Europe would lose its resolve if gas prices went up in the winter,” Nielsen told Ntv. “The assumption was that a recession would trigger large protests against the war. That didn’t happen, but Russia thought it would.”
Nielsen continued: “Another motive would be to demonstrate the vulnerability of Europe. Because now it is clear: If you are able to blow up your own pipeline, you can also do it with other pipelines – for example with the ‘Baltic Pipe’, which transports Norwegian gas to Poland.”
Nord Stream sabotage: Zelenskyy calls Ukrainian involvement “ridiculous”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also dismissed Ukraine’s participation in the blasting of the Nord Stream pipelines as “ridiculous”. “Ukrainians definitely didn’t do that,” emphasized the 45-year-old on Friday at a press conference with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Kiev. “That’s ridiculous.” The aim of the publications in German and other Western media about the alleged involvement of a pro-Ukrainian group is to slow down Western aid in the fight against Russia.
There were explosions last September on three of the four strands of the two Russian-German Nord Stream natural gas pipelines lying on the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Germany, Sweden and Denmark have started investigations. On Monday, the media in Germany, the USA and Great Britain published information about the possible course of events. According to this, a group of six with forged passports is said to have rented a yacht and unnoticed placed the explosive devices in a water depth of a good 80 meters.
