Initially, suspicions centered around the yacht Andromeda, rented in Poland’s Kołobrzeg by pro-Ukrainian Russians or Ukrainians. However, recent findings raise questions about this narrative.
Die Welt's investigation revealed that the Andromeda was docked and thoroughly inspected by the Polish Border Guard in Kołobrzeg seven days before the sabotage. Sources suggest the scale of the inspection indicates involvement of Polish special services, and passport data pointed to Russian origins for some crew members. Despite these findings, German investigators have continued to focus on Ukraine as the potential source of the attack.
Further complicating the matter, Die Welt reports that the Andromeda might have already visited the sabotage site when the inspection occurred. This coincides with a June 2022 warning by Dutch services to American counterparts about a potential Ukrainian sabotage operation using a ship. The German BND counterintelligence service was reportedly alerted as well, but Berlin deemed the tip unreliable at the time, the report said.
The Polish news website BiznesAlert also casts doubt on the yacht theory, with experts suggesting that such an operation would require significantly more resources. Additionally, unusual activity by the Russian fleet was observed prior to the sabotage.
(jh)
Source: BiznesAlert
