Arrest Warrant Issued for Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage Suspect
It has been reported that Germany in June issued a warrant for the arrest of Ukrainian diving instructor Vladimir Zhuravlev in connection with the September 2022 sabotaging of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines....
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Facts
- It has been reported that Germany in June issued a warrant for the arrest of Ukrainian diving instructor Vladimir Zhuravlev in connection with the September 2022 sabotaging of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines.[1]
- Authorities used traffic cameras to identify Zhuravlev's Ukrainian license plate in Germany, though he was in Poland at the time. Since Germany didn't put his name into a law enforcement database, Polish authorities couldn't apprehend him before he fled home to Ukraine.[2][1]
- Married couple Svitlana and Yevhen U. — diving instructors who had employed Zhuravlov — were suspected as co-conspirators. However, Svitlana denied any involvement, saying she and her husband were in Kyiv at the time and that she would never dive to a depth of 70-80 meters — the necessary depth to cause the explosion.[3][1]
- In response to the news, a German Justice Ministry spokeswoman said it was 'not commenting on the media reports' related to the matter, with another government spokesman stating that the warrant hasn't changed Germany's support of Ukraine.[4][5]
- This follows reports that the US was aware of alleged Ukrainian plots to sabotage the gas pipeline three months in advance. And Denmark and Sweden both conducted investigations that led to no suspect. Russia has blamed the US and UK for blowing up what was previously a significant gas supply to Europe.[1][3]
Sources: [1]POLITICO, [2]New York Times, [3]Reuters, [4]TASS and [5]Dw.Com.
Narratives
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Washington Post and NBC. This warrant likely substantiates past theories about a joint operation between Ukrainian officials and a private group. Last year, a Ukrainian special forces officer — in defiance of Pres. Zelenskyy — was found to have coordinated a scheme to rent a boat and send divers to blow up the pipeline. Now that these individuals are being tracked down, the Nord Stream mystery will hopefully be solved.
- Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Seymourhersh. This is a further cover-up of the fact that the US government was most likely behind the attack. Over two years ago now, sources close to the government's plan confirmed that US Navy divers conducted the sabotage. This was at the behest of Pres. Biden's National Security Advisor, who ordered the military and CIA to draw up a plan to destroy the pipelines even before Russia invaded Ukraine.
