Representatives of the Polish and US intelligence services were on board the yacht Andromeda, which was allegedly used to blow up Nord Streams, several days before the sabotage of the gas pipelines, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported, citing sources in Polish intelligence.
The check against the crew of the yacht, which had docked a few days before the explosions in the Polish port of Kolobrzeg, was not random, but was carried out “on a tip-off from the intelligence services”. Contrary to common practice, those in charge showed “excessive interest” in the small vessel arriving at the port.
“Our American friends were also on the spot,” a spokesman for the Polish secret services told the publication.
According to the media outlet, the anonymous source’s statements suggest that the US intelligence services were at least informed, and probably took part in the preparation of the sabotage of the Russian-German gas pipelines.
As the newspaper notes, another “strange” detail of the investigation pointed out by investigators and the German intelligence services is the reluctance of Polish authorities to provide their German counterparts with recordings of video cameras installed on the yacht and in the harbour.
“The recordings may depict not only the crew of the Andromeda, but also special services, and not only Polish ones at that. It seems that information about the yacht’s stay in Kolobrzeg is being concealed,” the publication summarises.
In March, the New York Times, citing US officials, reported that the sabotage of the gas pipelines could have been committed by a “pro-Ukrainian group” that acted without the knowledge of the US authorities. In late October, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said that the USA “blew up Nord Streams so that Europe could not receive gas from Russia”.