Sweden
Public prosecutor wants to announce Nord Stream decision
The Nord Stream 1 gas leak in the Baltic Sea, photographed from a Swedish Coast Guard aircraft. photo
© Swedish Coast Guard/dpa
It is still a mystery who was behind the explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines. A decision on the investigation is now pending in Sweden.
Almost a year and a half after the explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea Sweden faces a potentially groundbreaking decision on the investigation. The prosecutor in charge of the Swedish sabotage investigation, Mats Ljungqvist, is expected to announce a decision on his investigation into the case today. The public prosecutor left it unclear in advance which direction this decision would take. It is still unclear whether, for example, he will decide to stop the investigation, bring charges or issue a possible international arrest warrant against suspects.
According to “Süddeutscher Zeitung”, NDR, WDR and “Zeit”, Ljungqvist intends to stop the proceedings. The media reported that the Swedish authorities were apparently unable to identify any specific suspects in their country. Nothing was officially announced in advance. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the decision will only affect the Swedish investigation – so the German proceedings will continue regardless.
Investigations in Sweden, Germany and Denmark
At the end of September 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, as well as in Germany and Denmark.
Almost two months later, Ljungqvist came to the conclusion that the Nord Stream leaks were due to serious sabotage. “Analysis now carried out shows residues of explosives on several of the foreign bodies encountered,” he said in November 2022. Shortly after the leaks were discovered, it was suspected that sabotage was behind it – who is responsible for it remains unclear to this day.
Traces of explosives discovered on suspicious sailing yacht
In a joint letter to the UN Security Council in July 2023, the UN embassies of Germany, Denmark and Sweden wrote that investigators had discovered traces of explosives on a suspicious sailing yacht. This is likely to be the “Andromeda”, which has reportedly been in the investigators’ sights for some time.
There is a suspicion that the sailing yacht was used to transport the explosives used in the sabotage, the letter said. It was discovered that the boat had been rented in the name of a person who had used documents intended to conceal the identity of the real renter.
According to expert assessments, it is possible that trained divers could have planted explosive devices at the locations where the gas pipes were damaged, the letter continued. At the same time, however, it was also emphasized that the question of the perpetrators was unresolved: “At this point in time, it is not possible to reliably clarify the identity of the perpetrators and their motives, especially with regard to the question of whether the incident was caused by a state or a state actor was controlled.”