Ex-German spook sees Polish hand in Nord Stream blast, Warsaw wants apology

Germany’s former intelligence chief has accused Ukraine and Poland of planning and executing the sabotage attack on Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has strongly rejected such claims and demanded an apology.

Berlin has issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian diver who is accused of using explosives to blow up Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022. The subsea pipelines that zigzag on the bottom of the Baltic Sea brought natural gas to Germany from Russia.

August Hanning, who headed the German Federal Intelligence Service, BND, between 1998 and 2005, told local media that such a big sabotage attack could not be the work of a diving instructor and his team only and claimed that Polish and Ukrainian secret services must have been involved.

“According to the results of the German investigation, it was carried out by a Ukrainian team, and when we look at the map, we can understand that this can only be possible with support from Poland,” he told Die Welt media group.

Following Hanning's interview, Polish Prime Minister Tusk tweeted that the initiators of the gas pipeline project should “apologise and keep quiet.”

Earlier, Krzysztof Gawkowski, Polish deputy prime minister and the minister of digital affairs, strongly denied reports that Poland and Ukraine had damaged the Nord Stream gas pipeline in an interview with the Polsat broadcaster.

Gawkowski alleged that the comments of the former member of the German intelligence service were “inspired by Moscow” and were aimed at destabilising NATO countries.

“I believe that this is the sound of Russian disinformation,” he said.

Polish connection

In another link of what possibly could be the 'Polish connection' in the Nord Stream sabotage, German investigators believe that the main suspect behind the bombing is hiding in Poland.

Polish prosecutors have confirmed that they had received a warrant for a Ukrainian man wanted by Germany as a suspect in the pipeline attack but say that he fled the country before he could be arrested.

The Wall Street Journal in its investigative report held Ukraine responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in September 2022, a dramatic act of sabotage that cut Germany off from a key energy source and worsened an energy crisis in Europe.

Poland has long said its own security interests have been harmed by Nord Stream.

The Wall Street Journal has said in its report that it spoke to four senior Ukrainian defence and security officials who either participated in or had direct knowledge of the plot. All of them said the pipelines were a legitimate target in Ukraine’s war of defence against Russia.