The news of the "North Stream" bombings has suddenly increased over the two days. German prosecutors have publicly said that a 49-year-old Ukrainian man has been caught in Italy with help. The man is not a small character – Germany says he is one of the coordinators of the entire operation, and the Italian media is more direct, calling him the "main leader".
The arrest was particularly unexpected. It was not in a secret den or a port terminal, but at the front desk of a resort hotel on the Adriatic Sea. He registered with his ID card, and the system compared it and found that he was a wanted criminal, and he was taken down on the spot.
As soon as they grabbed them, Germany quickly put out the investigation documents. The key information in them was put together and almost summed up what happened back then: there were six people in total, a sailboat called Andromeda, which set off from Rostock, Germany and drove near the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. Then four divers went down to the seabed to a depth of seventy to eighty meters and loaded at least four ticking time bombs, each weighing between 14 and 27 kilograms.
Russia also responded quickly and went directly to the UN Security Council to request an emergency meeting, scheduled for August 26th. The Russian side said that Germany was slow to investigate and opaque to the outside world. To put it bluntly, it wanted to bring Germany to the table and let it explain clearly what was going on. Before Russia opened its mouth to accuse, Germany first threw out the information it could say. This rhythm is particularly worth pondering.
The name of the suspect, Sergey or Sergey K, is in fact the same person, Ukrainian citizen, 49 years old. Germany says he is the "coordinator", while Italy thinks he may be the "principal person in charge".
Of the six people, the remaining four are who, which country, how old, not mentioned in the public information. Everyone cares about the details, in the investigation documents, but it is restored: using a fake identity rented boat, six people came together, four divers down and set time bombs. the bomb weight, the depth of the ocean, the sea of action, all communicated quite clearly, these are real information.
The reason why this matter is so big is not only because the explosion scene is scary, but also because this pipeline is too important. Nord Stream connects Russia and Germany, and half of Europe's gas supply depends on it. On the day of the explosion, the amount of natural gas leakage was reported to be about 800 million cubic meters, and the direct economic loss was also reported to exceed 2 billion euros.
Not to mention the chain reaction of skyrocketing gas prices, unstable gas consumption by enterprises, and people's worries about insufficient heating in winter. To put it bluntly, this time, not only the pipe leaked, but also the trust between countries leaked. Who did it, who connived at it, and who checked it slowly, as soon as these problems are put out, it is not only a legal matter, but also a political event.
Many people will ask, since the "big fish" has been caught, is the truth soon out? I still feel a short breath. Now can see clearly, is "how to do" this line: six people's squad, sailing boat as a platform, fake identity rental boat, diving bombs, timing explosives, these pieces put together, can basically restore the whole process.
But there are “two key information” not added: one is “the whole picture of man”—who are these six people? have any backgrounds trained together? who came out of the money? what channel is going? the other is “proof of command”—who agreed on the board above? who specifically ordered?
These two pieces are not mentioned in the public materials. There are many rumors outside that there is "protection at the national level" behind it, and some people talk about "some special training". But as far as I have information, I haven't seen any authoritative official documents or clear statements that can confirm these claims. This kind of rumor can only be regarded as "there is a statement, but there is no evidence", so put it aside first. If you say "there is no relevant information at present", you will make it clear.
Let's talk about the attitudes of European countries. The investigations in Denmark and Sweden have long stopped at the early stage. They only confirmed that they were "man-made sabotage" and did not release more information about the suspects. On the German side, because it invested the most money and suffered the greatest losses, it chased more closely and accumulated the materials in hand little by little. Making the line of "Andromeda" sailboat public this time is tantamount to telling the outside world that we have almost mastered the tools for committing crimes and the route of action.
Russia has always been excluded from the investigation and has been held back. Now that we have grasped the situation, Russia immediately pushed forward the Security Council meeting. The purpose is very straightforward, that is, to bring Germany onto the international stage and ask clearly what is going on with the "slow investigation" and "opacity." Germany's "taking the initiative to speak it out first" seems to be laying the groundwork: first shake the information that can be made public, and have something to say during the meeting.
There is no need to detour the impact on Germany. If the final court evidence can prove that "Ukrainian nationals are involved in destroying channels with German investment", German society's support for aiding Ukraine will definitely be affected. Companies care about gas prices, ordinary people care about bills, and politicians talk about values. If these three things are pulled in different directions, Germany will feel very uncomfortable.
Everyone is not unreasonable, but who should pay for this, let it be clear.That is why Germany must now speed up the pace of investigation and show the chain of evidence in a transparent way.
A lot of people are discussing the “role of the United States in this matter” online, but to be honest, there is no authoritative document in our materials that proves that “the United States is directly involved in disruptive actions”.
The change in energy market share is a fact that Europe imports more liquefied natural gas is also a fact, but these two things themselves can not be the evidence of a criminal case. Take speculation as evidence, it may be nice to write, and the conclusion also looks disassembled, but can't withstand the press. The more complicated the truth, the more you can withstand the impulses of blind speculation.
I think it’s not a bad thing to let others take questions and follow them, rather than say what they can say first.The domestic people can see the sincerity, and the actions of Germany can also be seen outside.Of course the cost is, after the publication, you have to answer more questions.Fear of being asked, don’t do this.
In the end, the case had not reached the point of "unraveling the truth", but at least it was no longer "seeing flowers in the fog". The people were arrested, the documents were lit up, and the meeting was about to start. Next, don't rely on rumors to stir up the heat, but push the evidence forward, and set a charter on how to calculate the loss clearly and how to make up for the safety.
If Europe is to be stable, pipelines will be secure; if pipelines are not secure, news will not be broken.