The suspect charged regarding the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines in Hamburg is reportedly believed to have been affiliated with Ukrainian military forces and worked for the Ukrainian intelligence service, the SBU, at the time of the incident. According to the indictment, as reported by “Stern,” he allegedly claimed this during a phone conversation with his wife, which was monitored by Italian authorities. This document reportedly contains several indications of state involvement by Ukraine in the explosion of the Nord Stream pipelines.
The charges were filed several weeks ago but have not yet been approved. Investigators reportedly possess only circumstantial evidence against the arrested individual. This marks the first such prosecution by a German law enforcement agency linked to the gas pipeline sabotage in the Baltic Sea on September 26, 2022.
Since the indictment was filed, the only information made public is that the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office sees sufficient grounds to suspect that the sabotage was carried out on behalf of Ukrainian state entities. The details within the indictment support this suspicion. Furthermore, the detainee allegedly expressed in the conversations held during his Italian detention that he felt “abandoned” by his country and its president. He also reportedly expressed a desire to speak with his “commander.”
This commander is purportedly identified as a Ukrainian intelligence officer. Following the suspect’s arrest, he claimed in a written statement that the suspect was under his command at the time of the sabotage. The Ukrainian president, Zelenskyy, has consistently denied that Ukraine was involved in the pipeline sabotage.
