German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser made the decision to deploy a unit of GSG 9, which specializes in counterterrorist operations, due to security risks which transpired following the attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, according to the report. The German police and defense forces have recently spotted "dozens" of Russian boats mapping German pipelines and other offshore infrastructure in the North and Baltic seas, the report alleged.
The new unit, equipped with speedboats and divers, will be deployed in Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein to ensure their ability to quickly respond to security risks on the sea, the newspaper said.
The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, built to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Europe, were hit by explosions on September 26, 2022. Germany, Denmark and Sweden have not ruled out deliberate sabotage. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office opened an investigation into it as an act of international terrorism. Russia has repeatedly requested data on other countries' investigations into the explosions, but never received it, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.