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Russia dismisses the information that Ukrainians blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
German prosecutors say they investigated a suspicious boat – and the Swedish prosecutor dismisses the Russian trail.
– It is not logical, says District Attorney Mats Ljungqvist to the New York Times.
The New York Times, Die Zeit and other German media claim that an undefined group of Ukrainians are behind the explosions of Nord Stream 1 and 2 off Bornholm last September.
But the Kremlin does not believe the data. Russian presidential press spokesman Dmitry Peskov says according to the Ria Novosti news agency:
– It is clear that those behind the terrorist action want to divert attention. This is a coordinated clickbait for the media, says Putin’s press spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Dmitry Peskov has previously blamed the Nord Stream explosions on the United States. When the American journalist Seymour Hersh in early February in an article pointing out the United States and Norway as responsible for the explosions, Peskov said:
– Unfortunately, his article was not widely distributed in the Western media, which we are not surprised by, said the Kremlin’s press spokesman at the time according to Ria Novosti.
Peskov is now also upset that Russia is not being allowed to the site of the explosion to investigate the gas pipelines, which are 51 percent owned by Russia’s Gazprom and run on the bottom of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
– It is not only strange, but a terrible crime, says Peskov.
Trying to establish identity
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors in Germany said a boat suspected of transporting explosives to the blast site in the Baltic Sea was being investigated between January 18 and 20, writes the news agency AFP.
Prosecutors added that they are still trying to determine the identity of the suspected perpetrators and their motives.
According to Die Zeit and other German media, a Ukrainian-owned yacht belonging to Poland should have left Rostock, Germany, on September 6 with six people on board. Two divers on board are said to have placed the explosives near the gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. The boat was later returned in an uncleaned condition, according to Die Zeit.
Prosecutor: “Never thought it was Russia”
Chamber prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist, who leads the Swedish preliminary investigation into the explosions, writes in an email to Aftonbladet on Wednesday:
“With reference to the ongoing preliminary investigation, I have no desire to comment on the matter in any way at this time. When there is something to say, it will be done via a press release.”
In an interview with New York Timeswhich should have been made last month, the prosecutor says he does not believe that Russia is behind it.
– Do I think it was Russia that blew up Nord Stream? I never believed that. It’s not logical. But as in a murder investigation, you need to be open to all possibilities.