Germany says Nord Stream could be 'false flag' operation
Germany's government is warning that the story in the New York Times this week that a pro-Ukrainian group may be behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year should be treated with caution, because the attack could still have been a so-called false flag operation. In other words, the true perpetrators could have staged the incident to blame Ukraine, even if that country had nothing to do with it. The reactions to the story from World Power highlight both the mystery of the incident and the secretive nature of their war plans. Germany's Defense Minister Boris Bistorius on Wednesday said it wouldn't be the first time such a false flag event happened, and that there were what he called expert opinions indicating it without elaborating. He was at a summit in Stockholm, also attended by NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. And Ukraine's Defense Minister Alexei Resnikov called the media reports strange, and that the incident had nothing to do with Ukraine's government. Stoltenberg said investigations are ongoing.
The U.S. has said the same. There are ongoing national investigations, and I think it's right to wait until those are finalized before we say anything more about who was behind. The New York Times story revolves around intelligence reportedly reviewed by U.S. officials.
Reuters can't verify the claims. The Times says the intelligence reports draw no firm conclusions, but that pro-Ukrain saboteurs were likely behind it. It also said there was no evidence that Ukrainian President Zelensky or any of his top officials played a role. The possible motive, according to the Times, that destroying the pipeline would remove a potential method for Russia to get leverage over Europe through gas exports. It is something that Ukraine and its allies had warned about for years. The Russian government has suggested that the New York Times report could be a coordinated effort to divert attention. Meanwhile, two other reports from the German newspaper Zeit and ARD, a news channel, say that authorities have identified a vote used in this sabotage.
The outlets said it was a yacht rented by five men and a woman using forged passports, and that their true nationalities are unknown. The German media also said it was rented by a Polish company owned by Ukrainians. German federal prosecutors on Wednesday confirmed that they raided the yacht, but that it was chartered by a German company.
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