Sweden finds traces of explosives near damaged Nord Stream pipeline

Swedish authorities confirmed on Friday that preliminary analyzes have found traces of explosives on “foreign objects” found near the damaged Nord Stream pipelines, in what the senior prosecutor described as “gross sabotage”.

Chamber Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist is leading the ongoing investigation into the detonations near the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that damaged the system in late September.

The prosecutor confirmed Western defense officials’ suspicions of an act of sabotage, but said analytical work is continuing so investigators can “draw firmer conclusions about the incident.”

“The preliminary investigation is very complex and extensive,” the Swedish authorities said in a statement. “The ongoing investigations must show whether someone can be served with the suspicion of a criminal offense.”

Possibly the biggest methane leak in history happened after four sites along the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were unexpectedly damaged off the coast of Denmark in the Baltic Sea in late September.

Since then, Danish and Swedish authorities have been investigating the sites to find out what happened to the pipelines.

The pipelines were built to transport natural gas from Russia to Europe, and some Western officials were quick to blame Moscow for the attacks because it has continually blocked gas supplies to the continent since its invasion of Ukraine and subsequent clashes with European nations.

“These are intentional acts, not an accident,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on September 27. “The situation is as serious as it gets.”

Russia, which has accused the US of using underwater “robots” to target the pipelines, said it would not recognize probe results unless it was directly involved in the probes.

But Sweden early on dismissed any suggestion that Moscow be involved in the investigation, saying “it was not up for discussion”.

“We do not normally involve foreign powers in our criminal investigations,” Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said during a briefing in October. “That’s the basic approach. It is not up for discussion.”