Media reports
Nord Stream sabotage: Sweden apparently wants to stop investigations
The Nord Stream 1 gas leak in the Baltic Sea
© Swedish Coast Guard / DPA
In September 2022, the explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 Baltic Sea pipelines caused a stir worldwide. Since then, several countries have been investigating. According to media reports, the Swedish public prosecutor’s office now wants to close the case.
According to information from several media outlets, the Swedish public prosecutor’s office is expected to close its investigation into the sabotage on the Baltic Sea pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 shortly. The responsible public prosecutor, Mats Ljungqvist, apparently wants to stop the proceedings, reports said “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, NDR, WDR and “Time” on Tuesday. Apparently the Swedish authorities were unable to identify any specific suspects in their country. Shortly after starting their work, the Swedish investigators announced that traces of explosives had been found on the destroyed pipelines.
Ljungqvist had in the Swedish newspaper on Monday “Expresses” announced that it would make a decision on the matter in the coming days. The public prosecutor announced on Tuesday that this decision would probably be made on Wednesday. The public prosecutor and his office left details open about the direction in which this decision would go.
German investigators could benefit from Swedish decision
Ljungqvist’s decision will only affect the Swedish investigation – so the German proceedings will continue. As the media reported, the German authorities could even benefit from the Swedish move because the Swedes could then make their evidence available to them.
On September 26, 2022, several explosions were registered near the Danish Baltic Sea island of Bornholm and a little later four leaks were discovered in three of the four lines of the Nord Stream pipelines. Investigations were then started in Sweden, Germany and Denmark. In November 2022, Ljungqvist confirmed the suspicion that had been harbored from the beginning that it was sabotage. Analyzes showed explosive residues on several foreign bodies, he explained.
In a joint letter to the UN Security Council in the summer of 2023, the UN embassies of Germany, Denmark and Sweden wrote that investigators had discovered traces of explosives on a suspicious sailing yacht. This was said to have been used to transport the explosives used in the sabotage, the letter said, but also emphasized: “At this point in time, it is not possible to reliably clarify the identity of the perpetrators and their motives, especially in… “With regard to the question of whether the incident was controlled by a state or a state actor.”
Sabotage on Nord Stream: perpetrator not yet found
There was speculation in the media about who could be behind the explosions. According to some reports, a Ukrainian sabotage team disguised as recreational sailors planted explosive devices on the tubes. According to other reports, a Russian submarine was spotted in suspicious proximity to the tubes. Russia suspects the USA and Great Britain of pulling the strings behind an attack and has called for an international investigation.
Until deliveries stopped, Russia pumped natural gas from Siberia to Germany and other European countries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Nord Stream 2 was not put into operation because of the Russian attack on Ukraine. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 also highlighted Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas. Germany in particular was dependent on cheap imports from Russia. After import restrictions and import stops, energy prices exploded. In Germany, the state stepped in with subsidies to dampen the effects of cost increases.