Why Nord Stream gas pipelines are important not only for gas but also for European politics – Firstpost

Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Z. is currently wanted by Germany. After almost two years of investigation, the authorities have issued an arrest warrant for him. He is accused of blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline in September 2022. The Ukrainian government under Volodymyr Zelenskyj denies its involvement in the act, which has strained relations in Europe beyond the Baltic Sea.

According to media reports from Germany and the United States, Volodymyr Z. was part of a six-person team that dived into the Baltic Sea and placed explosives on both pipes of Nord Stream 1 and one of the two pipes of Nord Stream 2.

Although there is not enough clarity about the true identity of Volodymyr Z. (presumably an alias of the agent), Polish authorities have reportedly confirmed to Germany that the suspect was in their country in July before traveling on to his home country.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Nord Stream operation was planned at the highest levels of the Ukrainian government and involved senior officials. “The whole thing was born out of a night of drinking and the iron determination of a handful of people who had the courage to risk their lives for their country,” an officer allegedly involved in the plot was quoted as saying.

Moreover, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was reportedly the one who initially approved the plan, but when the plan was leaked to the US intelligence agency CIA, the agency put pressure on the Ukrainian president to abandon the plot.

If Zelensky changed course and abandoned the Nord Stream pipeline explosion, who authorized it?

According to reports, Zelensky’s commander-in-chief had already committed to the plan and carried out the operation, despite the Ukrainian president’s decision against it.

In an interesting move, Zelensky’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak blamed Russia for the explosions in a statement on Thursday, while denying Ukraine’s role in the sabotage operation.

Russia, in turn, claims that the explosions were approved by the USA, Great Britain and Ukraine. However, all three deny any involvement.

But Nord Stream has always been a problem

In the 2000s, Germany held talks with Russia about building a direct gas pipeline. The aim was to reduce costs for Germany and ensure long-term energy security.

Before the Nord Stream pipeline, Russian gas flowed through Ukraine, which received a hefty $2 billion in transit fees each year. The costs were obviously paid by consumers, in this case the Germans. In today’s prices, the construction of the Nord Stream pipeline cost $8.1 billion.

When Germany and Russia discussed an alternative route that avoided Ukraine, this offered Poland an opportunity to make money. But Germany and Russia opted for the sea route.

When Nord Stream was formalized and put into operation, Ukraine and Poland were among those that vocally opposed the pipelines, citing safety concerns.

A brief timeline of North Stream

2005: Although the first talks began in the 1990s, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a declaration on the construction of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline as early as 2005.
2010: Construction of Nord Stream 1, a 1,224-kilometer-long twin pipeline, has begun on the Russian and German sides.
2012: The Nord Stream pipeline is put into operation. The operator states that Nord Stream can supply gas to Europe for the next 50 years, if not longer.
2013: Planning for Nord Stream 2 begins — two 1,250-kilometer-long pipelines are to run parallel to Nord Stream 1.

Crimea and beyond

In March 2014, Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, drawing heavy criticism from across Europe and America. But then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel decided not to suspend the pipeline project.

However, the annexation of Crimea has led Ukraine and Poland to become more critical of Nord Stream and express reservations on security grounds. The European Union (EU) also has concerns about energy security and the possibility of a new diplomatic alignment.

In the USA, after becoming president in 2016, Donald Trump warned Germany that the country was becoming too dependent on Russian energy supplies. Trump saw this as a way for Putin to have more influence over the West than he was entitled to.

Germany ignored these concerns because Nord Stream not only offered an answer to Europe’s ongoing energy supply concerns, but also represented a long-term guarantee of stability due to the enormous cash flows.

When construction began in 2018, the US vented its anger at its ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, and wrote threatening letters to the German companies involved in Nord Stream.

Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021, when incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz was elected to office. Scholz stressed that the gas pipelines should be viewed as a commercial private sector project and assessed independently of the West’s relations with Putin’s Russia.

The invasion of Ukraine and the explosion at Nord Stream

In February, Russia invaded Ukraine, an ally of Germany. The invasion confirmed the concerns Ukraine had raised. The invasion led to a series of sanctions against Russia, while gas supplies via Nord Stream continued.

Russia shut down Nord Stream 1 in July and August 2022, ostensibly for maintenance reasons, but mainly as a means of exerting pressure on the West to ease sanctions over the Ukrainian invasion. Although gas supplies have resumed, previous flow levels have not been restored.

And in the midst of all this, a team of allegedly trained Ukrainians dived into the Baltic Sea to attach explosives to three Nord Stream pipelines on the Danish island of Bornholm. Shortly afterwards, Germany launched an investigation in coordination with Denmark and Sweden.

Now, two years later, Germany has issued an arrest warrant for one of the six suspects identified as Volodymyr Z. – a name that bears an uncanny resemblance to that of the Ukrainian president – ​​for blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipelines.