Poland was not hub for Nord Stream sabotage, prosecutors say


Gas leak at Nord Stream 2 as seen from the Danish F-16 interceptor on Bornholm

Thu, June 22, 2023 

WARSAW (Reuters) - There is no evidence to suggest that Poland was used as a hub for the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline, Polish prosecutors said on Thursday, rejecting a report that a team that blew up the pipelines may have used Poland as an operating base.

It also said that there was no direct evidence to suggest that the "Andromeda", a 50-foot (15-metre) yacht suspected of being involved in explosions at the site, took part in the sabotage.

The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported this month that German investigators are examining evidence suggesting a sabotage team used Poland as its base to damage the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea in September.

"The statement that 'Poland was a logistics hub for the operation of blowing up Nord Stream' is completely untrue and is not supported by the evidence of the investigation," the Polish National Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.

It added there was no evidence to suggest that Polish citizens participated in blowing up of the pipelines.

According to the newspaper, German investigators have reconstructed the two-week voyage of the Andromeda. Citing people familiar with the voyage, it said the sabotage crew placed deep-sea explosives on Nord Stream 1 before they setting the vessel on a course towards Poland.

Polish prosecutors said that the Andromeda had sailed to Poland from the German island of Ruegen and spent 12 hours in a Polish port.

"The findings of the investigation show that during the stay of the yacht in a Polish port, no items were loaded onto its deck, and the crew of the yacht was inspected by the Polish border guard," the prosecutor's office said.

Polish daily Rzeczpospolita cited the prosecutors office as saying that there were 6 people on board the yacht and that they had Bulgarian passports.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz)