POLITICO: Ukrainian diver accused of Nord Stream bombing

Politico has exposed the alleged Ukrainian saboteur of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

The man accused of being behind the most serious attack on Germany’s energy reserves since World War II She was seen on Facebook standing by the sea and smiling at the camera.

Name: Vladimir Zhuravlev. Nationality: Ukrainian. Place of residence: Kiev. Profession: Diving instructor.

According to a report by the German news program Daily News On Wednesday, a German warrant was issued in June for his involvement in the September 26, 2022, attack on the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany via Russia.

German investigators suspect that Ukrainian nationals rented a yacht called the “Andromeda” and that divers used it to navigate pipelines near the island. Bornholm, Denmark And planting explosives.

The undersea explosions shut down three of the four Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that carry natural gas from Russia to Germany. Since then, a “blame game” has ensued over who is responsible: Russia, Ukraine, the United States or the United Kingdom.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted last year that his country was not behind the attack, saying: “I would never act like that.”

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline had been in operation since 2011. Nord Stream 2 was completed but had not yet started pumping natural gas by the time of the attacks. The pipelines were highly controversial projects, with Ukraine, the United States, Poland and others criticizing Germany for tightly “tying” it to Russia with Russian gas — that was, of course, until Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

After the Russian invasion, Germany stopped importing Russian natural gas.

Although the pipeline was not carrying natural gas at the time of the explosions, German investigators have suggested that the attack was planned by a Ukrainian group as early as 2014, Welt and Politico — both owned by German publisher Axel Springer — reported. The energy project has been repeatedly criticized by Ukraine.

According to leaked documents published online, the United States had information that Ukraine was planning to attack gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Three months before the explosions I mentioned last year Washington Post.

However, some Western and German intelligence officials told Welt am Sonntag and Politico that they had doubts about Ukraine’s responsibility, believing the provocation was intended to cover up Russia’s involvement.

This theory is particularly popular in Polish security circles, which sent a document with the names of Russian suspects to the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND). However, German investigators were not convinced, and prosecutors moved to issue an arrest warrant for Zhuravlev.

Denmark and Sweden also opened investigations into the explosions, but those investigations were suspended without naming a suspect.

German authorities referred Arrest warrant for Zhuravlev She said he was in Poland in June, after they were able to identify him thanks to photographs and witness statements. the time.

But he said Zhuravlev was not arrested because he left Poland for Ukraine in early July. Polish media Anna Adamiak, Poland’s attorney general. Germany has not included the suspect on the list, she added. On the wanted listThat’s why the Polish border guards didn’t know he was wanted when he crossed the border.

Tagischau also named two other people as suspects alongside Zhuravlev, a couple called Svetlana and Yevhen Yu, who run a diving school in Ukraine, and for whom Zhuravlev reportedly worked as a diver.

In an interview with Politico on Wednesday morning, Svetlana Uspenska said neither she nor her husband took part in the attack, insisting she was in Kyiv at the time.

Ouspenska confirmed that she herself is a submariner, “But my maximum depth is 30 meters.”The explosions occurred at a depth of 70 to 80 metres, which she said may have been carried out by special forces, but not by them. She added that she planned to sue German media for “several million euros” for naming her in the case.

She fled her homeland after the Russian invasion and lived with her children in Austria and Bulgaria, among other places. Ouspenska is now in Poland. Her husband Yevhen is fighting against the Russian forces.

Uspenska provided Politico with numerous photos and relevant geolocations showing her in various locations in Ukraine in the fall of 2022. It is unclear what role German authorities attribute to her and her husband in planning and executing the attack.

Zhuravlev did not respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.

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