Serhii Kusnetzov (center), Ukrainian army officer, at his trial in Hamburg-Reuters photo
In July, German state prosecutors accused Ukrainian “state authorities” of ordering the attacks on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 lines: “The aim was to permanently halt gas supplies via the pipelines and prevent Russia from using the revenue from natural gas trade to finance its war effort.”
Wednesday (10/14) was day one of the trial of Serhii Kuznetsov for leading the pipeline sabotage.
The trial will resume on 10/27.
Kuznetsov’s lawyers argued that the trial should not be taking place at all. They said the defendant had been held almost entirely in solitary confinement for 11 months, and that he was being treated “like a pawn on a chessboard.”
The attorneys argued that he could not defend himself in the conventional manner because he was an army officer, which forbade him from speaking.
The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, which has soared in popularity and is currently leading in German polling:
Argues that German aid for Ukraine must cease and the pipeline be reinstated.
Asks why Germany poured billions of euros into a political regime that deprived them of cheap energy.
Calls this an attack on German sovereignty.
Has requested the establishment of an investigative committee to clarify what the federal government knew and to what extent Ukrainian authorities were involved.
The AfD supports “Protection of the Environment”, but not the “German Climate Protection Policy” and plans for “decarbonization” and the “Transformation of Society”. They want to end the perception of CO² as an exclusively harmful substance and stop Germany’s maverick policy in the reduction of CO² emissions.
Because the average output is so variable, renewable energy generators are not viable replacements for conventional large power stations.
Renewable sources necessitate a massive expansion of the electric grid systems and jeopardize grid stability.
Fracking: Explore Opportunities and Risks, Involve Citizens
Nuclear Energy: Explore Alternatives, Grant Lifetime Extensions in the Interim
Yesterday, the trial of a Ukrainian officer began in a Hamburg courtroom. See the X post and video below.
The big issue, of course, is the extent of Ukrainian govt involvement in the sabotage.
🇩🇪🇺🇦Germany puts a Ukrainian officer on trial for blowing up Nord Stream as a WAR CRIME ordered by Kyiv
Serhii K. will walk into a Hamburg courtroom today as the first person ever tried for the 2022 blasts that cut Germany off from the pipeline that once carried half its gas… pic.twitter.com/nBWPKWAPzj
“A civilian diving instructor, she was the sole woman on the team—and perhaps the reason that one of the greatest acts of sabotage in modern history was carried out successfully, according to individuals involved in its planning and German police who investigated it.”
Just when we were settling on Der Spiegel’s account of the Nord Stream sabotage, Michael Kobs provides reasons for skepticism. Are the detailed revelations in Der Spiegel part of a coordinated effort to relieve governments of any responsibility and glorify the destruction of economically important pipelines?
“Since the German arrest warrant for a participant in the Nord Stream terrorist attack, efforts have also increased in Germany to portray the terrorist attack as a “legitimate” or even “admirable” war effort. However, the greatest effort is to relieve the burden on state actors. And so, since recently, the alleged perpetrators seem to be chatting without reservation, spreading out every little detail in front of journalists, and putting every (already revealed) fact in the “right” non-governmental light.” ~Michael Kobs
Meanwhile, independent journalist Jeffrey Brodsky continues to delve deeply into Nord Stream issues. A recent interesting and detailed piece refutes assertions that Gazprom and Russia somehow benefited from the Nord Stream attack. Mr. Brodsky provides evidence to the contrary concluding that the destruction of the pipelines has contributed significantly to Gazprom’s financial problems. He noted that:
Gazprom announced a loss of $6.9 billion for 2023, marking its first annual loss in more than two decades.
Nord Stream 1 supplied EU nations with a whopping 35% of all Russian gas imports.
Gazprom contributed $80 million of Russia’s $407 million in Federal govt revenues in 2022, and was a source of revenue that Russia would not want to jeopardize.
Unsurprisingly, the “experts” and politicians who argued that the Nord Stream sabotage would benefit Gazprom and Russia have failed to modify or correct their assertions. Mr. Brodsky concludes his detailed analysis as follows:
“However, despite the numerous facts that have emerged since the attack, the damage caused to Russia and Gazprom by the sabotage remains willfully ignored. Politicians and experts who claimed that the sabotage would be beneficial to Russia or Gazprom financially, legally or geopolitically seem to have merely skimmed the first chapters of the Nord Stream story. So far, almost none of them have publicly corrected themselves after hastily familiarizing themselves with its complex plot. But since the perpetrator of the sabotage has not yet been unmasked, they still have the opportunity to pre-order the unfinished sequel to the book. Perhaps it will end up being an international bestseller. ~ Jeffrey Brodsky
Der Spiegel: “Wie ein ukrainisches Geheimkommando Nord Stream sprengte“
Observations:
Der Spiegel’s detailed account is based on interviews with the perpetrators whose identities are being withheld.
~a dozen men and one woman, all Ukrainians, were involved in the sabotage. Some were soldiers, some were civilians; some had past connections with the CIA.
<$300,000 budget funded by a Ukrainian businessman
Saboteurs received no payments
Low tech operation using the sailboat Andromeda
The article includes details on how the mission was accomplished.
To the commandos, Nord Stream sabotage was viewed as a military objective, a legitimate act of self defense.
The team understood that only a small hole in the outer wall would suffice to burst the pipe given the gas pressure in the lines.
Tested bomb designs in a lake, and trained in a flooded mine to depths of 100 m.
Zelensky was not fully trusted and was intentionally not informed of the plan. (However, the authors are not completely ruling out some Zelensky involvement in the planning.)
Western intelligence heard about the plan 3 months before the operation. Zelensky was then informed by a CIA officer in Kiev.
A CIA agent contacted one of the commandos who he knew. To protect the mission, the commando said he didn’t know anything about such a plan, but would inquire further.
The commandos decided they needed to get on with the operation before sea conditions worsened in the fall.
6 bombs were planted under sometimes difficult conditions. One did not explode, so the Nord Stream 2 B pipeline remained intact.
"German Prosecutor General Jens Rommel has issued the first arrest warrant for the main suspect in the 2022 Nord Stream blowing-up case, a Ukrainian named Volodymyr, who lived in Poland until recently. Polish Prosecutor's Office reports that suspect in blowing up Nord Stream… pic.twitter.com/56ixGiRAix
Skepticism about these charges is running high given the apparent political convenience of the “private Ukrainian citizens” sabotage scenario. The German govt has been under pressure to identify the responsible party following the decisions by Denmark and Sweden to drop their investigations.
When the findings from important investigations are delayed, information leaks serve to control the narrative and satisfy political or economic objectives. Why are these intelligence organizations so eager to assign blame within the Ukrainian government? Why are the actual findings of the investigations not being released? Perhaps the WP and Spiegel reporters can answer those questions.
Former secret service agent Roman Chervinskyi in court in Kyiv in April; photo: Nikita Galka
According to the joint research by DER SPIEGEL and The Washington Post, Chervinskyi’s name is circulating both in Ukrainian and international security circles in connection with the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines. The former agent allegedly coordinated the attack and also provided support for the specialist unit behind the sabotage operation.
Cautionary note:
People in Western security circles say that the Ukrainian security apparatus is plagued with rivalries and infighting, and that information obtained from sources there must be handled with caution.
So at this time, some theories on the culprits appear to have dropped out. Those that are still in play include various versions of the Ukrainian rental yacht narrative and the Hersh account. Hopefully, the responsible parties will be identified, but given the political stakes, this is becoming increasingly unlikely.
German investigators are sceptical of claims that Russian naval ships sabotaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines and are instead pursuing leads that point to the Ukrainian authorities, according to a report.
The vacuum of official information has been filled by speculation variously pinning the blame on the United States, Russia, the Ukrainian secret services and an unnamed businessman in Ukraine. All three states have denied responsibility.
