The court proceedings related to the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines may jeopardize support for Ukraine, as German investigators are placing responsibility for the incident on Ukraine — The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing anonymous sources. In Hungary, Origo summarized the article.
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“Any court case could further strain relations between Ukraine and Germany, which is Kyiv’s largest financial supporter and the supplier of the most sought-after military equipment, especially air-defense systems. Political pressure is growing on Chancellor Friedrich Merz, although his close associates say they can manage the domestic fallout despite the opposition’s efforts to reduce support,” the article states.
According to high-ranking European officials, Germany would find it easier to handle the “diplomatic consequences” of the pipeline explosions if investigators had not collected “such convincing evidence against Ukraine.”
Origo recalled that on October 27, a court in Bologna ordered the extradition of a Ukrainian national, Serhiy Kuznetsov, to Germany, who is accused of involvement in the Nord Stream sabotage. According to the investigation, he was a crew member of the sailing yacht Andromeda, which allegedly participated in the operation against the pipelines. Kuznetsov’s defense rejects all charges.
High-ranking European officials voiced an utterly absurd opinion: that investigators should not have conducted such a thorough inquiry, should not have probed Ukraine’s responsibility — and then there would be no case.
In other words, the problem is not the perpetrator of the sabotage (which primarily harmed Europe), but the person who identified those responsible. One can only hope that the investigators — who have apparently uncovered the case in depth — will be able to keep their jobs. This aspect of the story alone is shockingly scandalous.
As for when cases like this, and others recently reported — for example, the alleged joint Ukrainian-British intelligence operation aiming to seize a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet and a Kinzhal hypersonic missile to stage a provocation against NATO — will finally trigger outrage in the West, remains unclear. What is clear, however, is that the umbilical cord is fraying…
