German court arrests Nord Stream blast suspect
A German court has issued a formal arrest warrant for a Ukrainian national allegedly involved in blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022.
The 49-year old, identified by media as former Ukrainian military officer Sergey Kuznetsov, supposedly led a small group of Ukrainian saboteurs. According to the German authorities, the group rented a yacht and planted explosives on the pipelines using commercial diving gear. The explosion severed three of the four pipelines that carried Russian natural gas to Germany.
Moscow has dismissed this version of events as “ridiculous,” suggesting involvement of NATO countries due to the complexity of the sabotage operation.
A statement published by the Office of the Federal Public Prosecutor General on Friday said that the “investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice executed the arrest warrant today [November 28] against Ukrainian national Serhii K.”
The man was apprehended in Italy in August and extradited to Germany on Thursday.
Another suspect in the case, identified as Vladimir Z., was detained in Poland in late September pursuant to a European Arrest Warrant.
However, in October, the Warsaw District Court struck down a German extradition request, ordering the suspect’s immediate release. The local media quoted Judge Dariusz Lubowski as arguing that Germany lacked jurisdiction, as the explosions occurred in international waters.
He went on to describe the blasts as “justified, rational and just.”
“Blowing up critical infrastructure during a war – during a just, defensive war – is not sabotage but denotes a military action,” the Polish judge concluded.
So the fact that it cost Germany billions of Euros and greatly affected their economy makes no difference to Poland.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also justified the sabotage, posting on X that “the problem with North Stream 2 is not that it was blown up. The problem is that it was built.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that Tusk’s statement reveals Poland’s willingness to condone terrorism as long as it hurts Russia.
A lucrative deal like Nord Stream and Nord Stream II would have guaranteed that Russia would never invade Germany, or any other country served by their gas and oil. It's still the case, but peace is of no interest to NATO. Only the sale of American LNG and NATO weapons is of interest.
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Two sanctioned tankers hit by ‘explosions’ – Türkiye
Two tankers sanctioned by the West were damaged by explosions in the Black Sea on Friday, Turkish officials have said.
The Kairos, a Gambian-flagged vessel bound for the Russian port of Novorossiysk, caught fire 28 nautical miles (51 km) off Türkiye’s coast due to unspecified “external factors,” the Turkish Directorate General for Maritime Affairs said later Friday evening.
All 25 crew members, most of them Chinese nationals, have been rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard.
Footage published by officials shows the ship engulfed in flames.
Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said the information received from the ship “indicated a possible mine strike.” He confirmed that the initial assessment suggested “external impact.”
The second vessel, the Gambian-flagged tanker Virat, reported a “strike” 35 nautical miles (65 km) off the Turkish coast. The ship had communicated that it was attacked by drones, according to local media. Uraloglu said rescue vessels were deployed to evacuate the Virat’s crew of 20.
Photos released by officials show a hole in the ship’s hull.
Both tankers had been sanctioned by Western states for transporting oil in violation of restrictions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine conflict. Moscow has denied operating a “shadow fleet.”
The Black Sea has remained the scene of tensions since February, as Russia and Ukraine have attacked each other’s naval assets. Floating mines have drifted far from the Ukrainian coast throughout the conflict, even reaching the Bosphorus.
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