German investigators uncovered group who blew up Nord Stream pipelines: Report

BERLIN (AA) – German investigators uncovered an evidence that showed a pro-Ukrainian group sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines last year, local media reported on Tuesday.

The group, made up of five men and one woman, traveled to the northern city of Rostock in September 2022, rented a yacht using fake passports, and sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines, public broadcaster ARD reported.

The yacht used in the operation was rented by a company based in Poland, which was apparently owned by two Ukrainians, according to the investigators.

The group believed to have consisted of two divers, two assistants, one captain, and a medic.

The suspects used professionally forged passports, and German authorities could not yet verify their real identities and nationalities.

The investigators found traces of explosives in the cabin of the yacht during forensic examinations.

The Nord Stream pipelines were sabotaged last September, and explosions caused extensive damage to the pipelines connecting Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea.