During the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Russia tried to obtain secret information about NATO military submarines in the Baltic Sea through requests to the German authorities.
As Deutsche Welle writes with reference to the dpa agency, this was the conclusion reached by the investigative commission of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state parliament.
The Mountain Authority of the city of Stralsund, on behalf of the operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, asked the Bundeswehr for the coordinates of submarine diving zones in the Baltic Sea. This authority was one of the authorities involved in the licensing of the pipeline and in 2018 was responsible for the permit for construction and operation in the coastal waters of Germany.
The commission found that the Russians had provided "very approximate data," but that it had jeopardized the security of Germany and NATO.
The pipeline licensing process was accompanied by corruption scandals, accusations of violations and lobbying of Russian interests through German officials. In Germany, in 2023, an investigation began against the "Protection of Climate and Ecology" fund, created by a decision of the parliament of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. He was accused of helping the construction industry to circumvent US sanctions.
Russian Gazprom financed this fund for €20 million. The management of the fund was accused of bribery. After the start of a full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine, the German authorities stopped the certification of the gas pipeline.
- On September 26, 2022, three explosions occurred in the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines that run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. They causedmassive gas leaks. Only one of the four threads of the gas pipeline remained intact.
- There are different versions of those involved in the explosion — the Swedish special services found confirmation of sabotage. According to the main version, the state structure is involved in the explosions, however, the work of an "independent group of activists" cannot be ruled out. Russian special ships were also recorded near the site of the Nord Stream explosion.
- Western media write that the Ukrainian side is involved in the sabotage. President Volodymyr Zelensky denies this.