Media: Nord Stream bombings planned before annexation of Crimea | Business

The publication writes that according to one of the versions, the 15-meter-long sailing yacht “Andromeda” with a crew of six, which was nearby in the Baltic Sea at the time, took part in the organization of the gas pipeline explosions.

A Welt am Sonntag source said the investigation had uncovered new evidence supporting suspicions that the yacht’s crew were involved in the attack.

Welt am Sonntag did not provide details on the planning of the attack on the pipelines. At the same time, according to Gerhard Schindler, who in 2011-2016 led German intelligence, the results of the investigation, which allegedly indicate the participation of a Ukrainian group, do not mean that Ukraine was the mastermind of the attack.

In his opinion, the Russian side might have carried out the operation “under a foreign flag”, and the traces left by the yacht’s crew might have been intentional.

According to the publication, a week before the explosion, the yacht “Andromeda” was checked by border guards in the Polish city of Kolobrzeg. Poland has also considered handing over videos of the yacht and its crew to investigators in Germany, but has not yet done so. According to Welt am Sonntag, one of the reasons may be that the recordings may not only include the crew of the Andromeda, but also “Polish and American agents”.

“Welt am Sonntag” reminds that in 2014 Nord Stream 1 has already been in operation for more than two years, while the construction of Nord Stream 2 has been planned.