The Swedish authorities announced Friday that investigations into leaks detected in September in Nord Stream have found «traces of explosives», confirming the thesis that the pipeline was subject to «blatant sabotage».
The Swedish prosecutor investigating the incident, Mats Ljungqvist, detailed in a statement released by his office that «the analyses carried out show traces of explosives in several of the non-native objects found.» «Advanced analytical work is continuing in order to reach more decisive conclusions about the incident,» he added.
«Cooperation with the authorities in Sweden and other countries has worked excellently. In view of the following work in the framework of the preliminary investigation and ongoing collaborations it is important that we can work with peace and quiet,» Ljungqvist stressed.
The Swedish Security Service said on October 6 that investigations had determined that the damage was caused by «explosions» and stressed that this «strengthens suspicions of serious sabotage». He explained that the aim is to determine whether there are suspicions against specific individuals for prosecution and stressed that what happened «is very serious».
Nord Stream AG, the operator of Nord Stream, said after the events of September that the damage to three of the pipelines was «unprecedented», following a gas leak in one of the sections of Nord Stream 2 and a loss of pressure in Nord Stream 1.
Authorities in Germany, Denmark and Sweden have excluded Russia from investigations into what happened, leading to a formal protest from Moscow, which has warned that it will not recognize the outcome of any report in which it was not involved.
