Warsaw denies any involvement in the Nord Stream explosion
In an interview with Welt TV, Hanning assessed on Thursday that the involvement of "Polish authorities" in the sabotage operation was realistic. "It's quite obvious that Polish authorities were involved - and I believe not just authorities, but I believe it was an agreement between the highest levels in Ukraine and Poland," said the former head of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND). From his perspective, the federal government should demand compensation for "state terrorism" from both Kyiv and Warsaw due to this case.
It was "a Ukrainian team" that carried out the attack, Hanning said. However, this would not have been possible without "strong logistical support from Poland." "These are decisions made at the highest political level, and I believe there were agreements between President Selenskyj and President Duda to carry out this attack," said the former intelligence chief, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj and Poland's head of state, Andrzej Duda.
Gawkowski categorically denied the accusations on Friday. "I believe this is Russian disinformation resonating through the words of German politicians or members of the state administration in Germany," he said. "Either they are acting under Moscow's influence or they are aware that this will lead to disagreements among NATO member states." He was "convinced that there is no evidence that Poland was involved in anything related to the Nord Stream sabotage."
Hanning also accused the government in Warsaw of "apparently having no interest in the success of the investigation." This, he said, was because "Poland was heavily involved in the preparation of this attack."
The authorities there allowed the Ukrainian suspect wanted by German investigative authorities to leave the country despite the exchange between them and on a political level. The investigation was also "not exactly promoted." "On the contrary, important results were withheld."
On Wednesday, it was reported that the Federal Prosecutor General in Karlsruhe had applied for a first arrest warrant in connection with the Nord Stream sabotage in June. This is against a Ukrainian who is suspected of being involved in the alleged attacks. The man, who was last resident in Poland, was able to escape to Ukraine before an arrest at the beginning of July, according to the Polish judiciary.
On Thursday, the Ukrainian leadership had already rejected a report by the US newspaper "Wall Street Journal" about approval of the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea by the highest government level in Kyiv as "nonsense."
The two pipelines were damaged by explosions in September 2022, seven months after the start of the Ukraine war. At that time, they were no longer in operation, but still contained gas.
Germany benefited for years from the import of cheap Russian natural gas. The pipelines were built for the transport of Russian gas despite massive criticism from Ukraine and from Eastern European EU partners.
The European Union, being a key player in the geopolitical arena, should closely monitor the developments surrounding the Nord Stream sabotage case, considering the allegations against Poland. It's concerning that the investigation into the case seems to be impeded in Poland, which is a member state of the European Union.
