Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Seymour Hersh said the United States was the likely saboteur of the Nord Stream pipelines.

The founder of the Eurasia Group consultancy Ian Bremmer pointed to the greater likelihood that Ukraine itself with support of Poland was the likely culprit. A few other pundits had accused Russia of sabotaging its own pipeline.

The last idea, Russia sabotaging its own pipeline, I found highly unlikely as Russia had invested heavily in the expensive undersea pipeline and gained no benefit from its being damaged and inoperable. My opinion was that Ukraine was likely responsible as it was the only beneficiary of the attack. The Nord Stream I and II were in direct competition with older Ukrainian pipelines for the future transit, if any, of Russian gas to Western Europe.

A recent update on the Nord Stream pipeline attack appeared in an August 15, 2024, New York Times article “Arrest Warrant Is Issued Over Pipeline Explosion” by Melissa Eddy and Julian E. Barnes.

The article reported that Polish prosecutors had in June received a European arrest warrant issued by Germany for a Ukrainian identified as “Volodymyr Z.” for the Nord Stream pipeline attack. The suspect was living in Poland at that time according to the German authorities.

The pipeline ran across the Baltic from Russia to Germany in international waters between Denmark and Sweden. Both of those countries had opened investigations as well.

German newspapers reported that expert divers could have planted explosives on the pipeline. A suspect Volodymyr Z, a professional diver, was identified from German speed cameras, however he was able to escape from Poland before Polish officials could make an arrest on the German warrant.

At the time of the attack the United States government indicated it had no knowledge of the attack and the Ukrainian government denied any responsibility.

This leaves the identity of the attackers still unknown until the capture, if ever, of Volodymyr Z and his diving team. So here we may have an imitation of Hollywood’s fictional IMF ( Impossible Mission Force) in true life.

As Ukraine is not a member of the European Union, I am not aware whether a German arrest warrant is legally enforceable there. Nor whether one is likely to be enforced even if legal.