Swedish police uncover evidence of detonations in Nord Stream probe
The Swedish Security Service said on Thursday that there was evidence of explosions at the crime scene of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines between Russia and Europe.
Pipelines linking Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea, a potential flashpoint in the Ukraine crisis, were damaged early last week, prompting an investigation by Swedish and Danish officials into four breaches.
In a long-running standoff, Moscow invaded Ukraine and cut off the fuel supply. Europe, which used to get about 40% of its gas from Russia, is now facing an energy disaster.
Moscow is looking to blame the West, implying that the United States stands to benefit. Therefore, it is probing the source of the leaks to prove its case. Washington has said they had nothing to do with it.
The Swedish Security Service “May infer that there have been detonations at Nord Stream 1 and 2 in the Swedish economic zone after completing the crime scene examination.”
The security agency stated that the gas pipes had sustained significant damage and that it had recovered some samples for analysis. According to the report, “the suspicions of massive sabotage have been bolstered” by the evidence.
Russia said it was notified via diplomatic channels that it could not participate in the probe.
Moscow said that a fair investigation couldn’t be done without its help, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that there were no plans to ask Russia to join the investigation at the moment.
Russia and European partners’ pipeline operators stated this week that they had been prevented from seeing the damaged portions since Danish and Swedish officials sealed off the region on Monday.
On Thursday, the Swedish Prosecutor’s Office said that they had lifted the evacuation order for the region where gas had been leaking into the ocean for the previous week.
Wednesday, the Swedish justice minister told the Kremlin that it was impossible to bring outside people into a Swedish criminal investigation.
Thursday, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said that the situation was being run by a police unit made up of Denmark, Sweden, and Germany.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that Moscow will want a “full and open probe” that involves Russian authorities and Gazprom (GAZP.MM).
If the pipeline’s owner isn’t allowed to see the probe, “there is something to conceal,” Zakharova added.
According to a representative for Sweden’s business ministry, neither Gazprom nor Nord Stream have asked the Swedish government to conduct their own investigation into the damage.
Jimmie Adamsson, a spokesman for the Swedish Navy, said that unmanned vehicles would have been used to check out the crime scene.
Swedish police uncover evidence of detonations in Nord Stream probe
“At such depths you utilise autonomous underwater vehicles,” he said, “and the pipelines are at a depth of 70-80 metres.”
