However the theory Russia did it or rather a sect of the Russia’s power structure did it is definitely plausible.
Many hardliners in the government saw the pipeline as a tool to negotiate with the West and a way out of the full scale war many hardliners are calling for. Blowing the pipeline has backed Putin into a corner.
The moderates on the other hand see the same thing as well. This forces Putin into a corner and weakens him considerably if the war goes badly (it was/is).
The only person who didn’t want the pipeline blown up was Putin himself. His power structure all had something to gain if the pipes were blown.
Many people say “well Russia wouldn’t do that” and they’re already wrong. Russia’s motives are not singular they are plural. There are competing groups within the Kremlin that are held together by Putin, not a singular will of Russia.
The Minerva tracks are from September, and to me look like they are scanning for something, rather than laying anything in a specific location. Possibly the Russians had a tip-off or spies informing that the pipes were mined.
The story might actually be partly true, except it was the US who feared a pipe inspection, and so detonated the evidence.
The Septemeber Minerva tracks are from two weeks before the explosion (it left the area Sep 13th and the explosions were early morning on the 26th) that timing seems to implicate rather than exonerate..
> Possibly the Russians had a tip-off or spies informing that the pipes were mined.
The Minerva isn't a Russian ship, it's a Greek oil tanker.. if the Russians had a tip about the pipelines being mined, surely they would investigate it themselves or with a ship that's equipped to examine the sea floor instead of a tanker with no such capabilities?
Those tracks are obviously just drifting or perhaps looking for something. I don't think the Russians mislaid their own pipeline. Maybe communications lines? Or smuggling? Looking for lost treasure?
In any case the point stands, it just makes no sense for the Russians to do this, and this presentation is in no way any kind of evidence in support of that theory IMHO.
As always, follow the money. USA are now the fracking gas suppliers to Europe, and have cut European 'dependence' on Russia (aka a modicum of independence from USA) which they'd been bleating about for a long time.