August Hanning, a former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, has suggested that Poland might have played a significant role in the Nord Stream pipeline explosions that rocked the Baltic Sea in September 2022. According to Hanning, there may have been a covert deal between Ukrainian and Polish officials to carry out the attacks.
The Nord Stream pipelines, crucial for transporting Russian gas to Germany, were severely damaged by underwater explosions. The blasts ended the flow of gas through Nord Stream 1 and made Nord Stream 2, which was never operational due to EU issues, unusable. Despite extensive investigations, no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
In a recent interview with Die Welt, Hanning claimed that while a Ukrainian team is believed to have carried out the attack, they would not have succeeded without significant support from Poland. “Looking at the situation, it’s clear that Polish agencies were involved,” Hanning stated, suggesting that high-level political arrangements between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish President Andrzej Duda might have been behind the operation.
Hanning alleged that Poland provided crucial logistical support to the Ukrainian saboteurs and even allowed one of the suspects to leave the country, despite Germany’s request for assistance in capturing him. He accused Warsaw of obstructing the investigation by withholding vital information and failing to cooperate with German authorities.
According to Hanning, such complex attacks require substantial state involvement, implying that both the Polish and Ukrainian military and intelligence services played major roles.
The claims have added a new layer to the already mysterious case. German media outlets, including ARD and major newspapers, have reported that Poland did not act on Germany’s request for cooperation regarding an arrest warrant issued for a Ukrainian national, identified as “Vladimir Z,” who was allegedly involved in the attack.
While Ukrainian officials have denied any involvement in the Nord Stream explosions, the new allegations cast a shadow over the investigation, suggesting that international politics might be playing a role in the ongoing mystery.
