Media outlets in Germany and Switzerland are blaming Ukrainian individuals for the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines. At least two Ukrainian nationals are linked to a yacht which German authorities are allegedly investigating in connection with the Nord Stream explosions last September.
Western media have previously claimed that traces of military-grade explosives were detected on board the vessel. Other media outlets and journalists blame the United States for the pipeline’s destruction.
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Earlier this month, high-ranking Russian diplomat Konstantin Gavrilov revealed that the United States had failed to respond to Moscow’s request for information surrounding the Nord Stream attack.
The allegations against the Ukrainian nationals were made in articles published on Sunday by Switzerland’s Tages-Anzeiger newspaper and Germany’s Suddeutsche Zeitung.
According to a report by RT, Tages-Anzeiger claimed it had tracked down what appeared to be a shell company, Feeria Lwowa, which allegedly charted the vessel in question, the Andromeda, last fall. Based in the Polish capital Warsaw, the firm purports to operate as a tourist agency but apparently has no telephone number, no website, and no employees, the outlet stated. According to Tages-Anzeiger, the company is registered in the name of two Ukrainians, one of whom lives in Crimea and has Russian citizenship. The person denied any involvement with Feeria Lwowa when questioned by the paper over the phone.
The second person is a woman described in Polish records as the president of the company. She confirmed to Tages-Anzeiger that she held that position, but declined to answer further questions. The article claimed that there were several other companies registered in her name in Poland and Ukraine.
According to the paper, investigators found traces of explosives that could be used underwater aboard the vessel, echoing claims in a report in the New York Times in April. In addition, officials reportedly identified one of the six crew members, who had presented fake Romanian and Bulgarian passports, as a 26-year-old Ukrainian man originally from a town southeast of Kiev. The individual allegedly serves in the Ukrainian armed forces.–RT
While its exact route remains unknown, Andromeda is said to have passed through the area where explosions later destroyed the two Nord Stream gas pipelines, the report alleged.