According to Xinhua News Agency, around the United States and other media reports that a pro-Ukrainian group may be the culprit of the "Beixi" natural gas pipeline explosion, many countries responded on the 8th.
Germany said it had searched a ship suspected of transporting related explosive devices, Ukraine denied involvement in the incident, and Russia criticized the report as a "diversion" and called for a thorough investigation.
In this regard, Farhan Haque, deputy spokesman of the UN Secretary-General, said on the 8th that the UN side did not have first-hand information on this accusation, so it could not comment. He said that the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline should be investigated by multiple relevant authorities.
This aerial photograph released by the Danish Ministry of Defense on September 27, 2022, shows the site of a leak from the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
Xinhua News Agency (Photo provided by the Danish Ministry of Defense)
Germany found one
Ships suspected of involvement in the Nord Stream bombing
The New York Times quoted an unnamed US government official on the 7th as reporting that the United States believes that a pro-Ukrainian group caused the "Nord Stream" natural gas pipeline explosion, but refused to disclose the nature of the so-called "latest intelligence", the means of obtaining it or provide details that can be used to confirm the credibility of the intelligence, while denying that US and British citizens were involved.
In addition, a number of German media reported on the 6th that the current clues on the German side point to a group composed of five men and a woman, who used false passports to rent a yacht to transport explosives.
Authorities had searched in January for a vessel believed to have transported explosives related to the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosion, the German prosecutor's office said March 8. The announcement comes after media reports that the Nord Stream gas pipeline bombing was carried out by a pro-Ukrainian group.
It is understood that in January this year, German authorities searched a ship suspected of participating in the "Nord Stream" pipeline explosion, and investigators found traces of explosives on tables in the cabin. The vessel was chartered from a Polish company. The covert operation was carried out by an action team consisting specifically of five men and one woman, including a captain, two divers, two diving assistants and a doctor. Due to the suspected forgery of passports, the true identities of these people are unknown.
The vessel departed from Rostock, Germany, on September 6, 2022, and reappeared the next day in Vik, Germany, and Christian Island, northeast of Bornholm, Denmark.
German prosecutors said in their briefing that investigators were still trying to determine the identity and motives of the suspects and had not yet reached firm conclusions, particularly whether the bombings were ordered by a certain country.
German media revealed on March 7 that a Western secret service sent a message to European partners shortly after the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline that Ukrainian commandos were responsible for sabotage operations, and there was also intelligence indicating that pro-Ukrainian groups may be responsible.
A spokesman for the German government said on the 8th that it has noted the latest reports on the explosion of the "Nord Stream" pipeline, and the explosion of the "Nord Stream" pipeline is still under investigation, and there are no results. On the same day, German Defense Minister Pistorius also said that Germany opposes the hasty issuance of so-called "investigation conclusions" without clear evidence. German Foreign Minister Baerbock said it would first wait for the relevant authorities to complete the investigation.
Western press: Ukrainians did it
Uzbe: I'm not, I don't
In September 2022, Denmark, Sweden, and Germany began independent investigations into the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline carrying gas from Russia to Europe via the Baltic Sea, which was widely considered "sabotage." Russia has repeatedly called for a joint investigation, but Western countries have refused. On February 8 this year, Seymour Hersh, a well-known American investigative journalist, published an article saying that the "Nord Stream" pipeline was secretly sabotaged by US intelligence departments and the US military. The U.S. government denies this.
The New York Times reported that the United States did not have evidence of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's involvement in the "Nord Stream" pipeline explosion, but some US officials believe that Ukraine has a "potential motive" for the attack on "Nord Stream".
On the 8th, more and more reports around related events were reported. The British "Times" reported that intelligence has been circulating in Western intelligence circles for months that a private company based in Ukraine was involved in the bombing, but the name of the company has so far been "kept secret" to avoid a possible "public quarrel" between Ukraine and Germany.
A week after the Nord Stream explosion, Nordic intelligence agencies were reportedly told that the explosion was not made by the United States, Russia or Poland, but by the private company from Ukraine. At the same time, the Nordic side was asked to "recuse" questions about the investigation of the incident and why it was "so slow".
Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksiy Reznikov denied on the 8th that the Ukrainian side was related to the bombing. He told reporters during the EU defense ministers' meeting: "This is not what we do. ”
Mikhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine, responded on social media on the 7th that the Ukrainian side had nothing to do with the bombing and had no relevant information about "pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups".
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on the 8th that the US and German media reports were "coordinated to release fake news" in an attempt to divert public attention from the real perpetrator of the attack.
Peskov stressed that the Russian side has not yet been allowed to participate in the investigation, and "only a few days ago it was informed from the Danish and Swedish sides." He called on Nord Stream participants and the United Nations to demand an "urgent and transparent" investigation "involving anyone who can provide leads."
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council Kosachev also said that the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline requires an independent international investigation and must have actual evidence. The purpose of similar statements by Western countries is to evade their responsibilities, avoid quarrels among allies, and cover up the perpetrators of sabotage operations. Kosachev stressed that the initiators of the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline could not have retreated in any way.
Former U.S. Congressman:
The United States is the only country that could blow up the "Nord Stream"
In this regard, Seymour Hersh, a senior US investigative journalist who issued an article early last month saying that the United States planned to blow up the "Nord Stream" natural gas pipeline, said in an interview on the 8th that this statement is groundless and cannot be justified.
Hersh said that the statements of the American and German media are not only of unknown origin, but also difficult to make sense in fact. The explosives and technology needed to accomplish this task are not something that a group of a few people can do.
Seymour Hersh, senior investigative journalist in the United States: After my article was published, I was accused of having no sources. But I read the New York Times and The Washington Post, and their claims are not from clear sources. The article published on the 7th once again reflects their stupidity, and the words in it do not make sense at all. No one will believe that a few people can complete the task with a yacht. The C4 explosives that blew up the Nord Stream pipeline were powerful enough to blow up major buildings in Washington or New York. Biden, fearing an impasse on the Ukraine issue and wanting to gain the support of Europe, especially Germany, ordered the "Nord Stream" pipeline to be blown up. Historically, successive U.S. presidents have feared Russia because of its ability to supply Europe with vast amounts of gas and oil. The United States has always wanted to stop this, and these things are not new.
Former Virginia congressman Richard Black reiterated in an interview with the Russian Satellite Network on the same day that the United States is the only country that is likely to blow up the "Nord Stream" pipeline.
Blake said he publicly commented the day after the explosion that the United States was the only country likely to blow up the Nord Stream pipeline, a view he still holds. He noted that no NATO country dares to act without U.S. approval, which leads and dominates NATO.
Blake also believes that the previous article published by Seymour Hersh about the United States planning to blow up the Nord Stream pipeline is accurate, and that Hersh is a respected investigative journalist whose investigative report is comprehensive and objective.
Yves Engler is a fellow at the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute, where he studies the foreign and military policies of Canada and related countries. In a recent interview with a reporter from the main station, he said that sabotaging the "Nord Stream" natural gas pipeline is in the interests of the United States. The silence of European governments and media after the incident suggests that the perpetrator behind it is likely to be the United States.
Yves Engler, Research Fellow, Canadian Foreign Policy Institute: Even if there is even the slightest possibility that Russia is responsible, [Western countries] will launch an international investigation. We also hear daily in the news explanations about the need for international investigations, and the lack of such political mobilization tells us that the United States may actually be the perpetrator. But for now, it seems that the United States will get away with it. European countries are not ready to stand up to Washington, demanding an explanation and holding the U.S. government accountable for this economic sabotage.
Scientist: The explosion of Nord Stream seriously damaged marine ecology
There is no suitable remedy
Since the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in September 2022, Danish scientists and researchers from many countries have conducted scientific research on the sea area where the incident occurred, and the results show that the devastating impact of the explosion on the Baltic Sea area and marine life is incalculable.
Hans Sanderson is a senior researcher at the Department of Environmental Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark. He showed the reporter of the China Central Radio and Television Station the results of the investigation and study of the "Beixi" pipeline explosion on the environmental hazards, and said that there is no suitable remedy at present.
Hans Sanderson, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Environmental Sciences, Aarhus University: We know that there were four explosions in total, each of which produced a direct shock wave of about 500 kg of TNT explosives. Any explosion could cause harm to living things, and fish and mammals within a radius of about 4 kilometers from the explosion would be killed; Mammals within 40 or 50 kilometers of a distance can experience hearing loss.
Professor Sanderson said the blast occurred near an area where chemical waste had previously been dumped. As a result, the explosion releases decades of accumulated pollution back into the marine environment. Researchers estimate that there are 250,000 tons of contaminated sediment. The blast released sediments containing toxic substances that could have killed some marine populations. Meanwhile, over the course of six days of the explosion, the Nord Stream pipeline released a large amount of methane gas, emitting the equivalent of about 15 million tons of carbon dioxide.
Professor Sanderson said sabotaging the Nord Stream pipeline was an act harmful to humanity.
Hans Sanderson, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Environmental Sciences, Aarhus University: It is important from an environmental point of view, and it is important to be aware of the impact of armed conflict on the environment and natural organisms in the first place. Because the cost of armed conflict is a humanitarian catastrophe, which also involves infrastructure and economic problems, but in fact it is also an environmental problem.
Editor|Duan Lian, Du Hengfeng, Du Bo
Proofreading | Cheng Peng
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