Nord Stream pipeline leak was sabotage, say Swedish officials

Investigators found traces of explosives at the site of damaged Nord Stream pipelines, confirming sabotage, a Swedish prosecutor said on Friday.

Swedish and Danish authorities are investigating four holes in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which link Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea and have become a flashpoint in the Ukraine crisis.

Denmark said last month that a preliminary investigation showed the leaks were caused by loud explosions. “The analysis now carried out shows traces of explosives on several of the objects that were recovered,” the Swedish public prosecutor’s office said in a statement. “The investigation is highly complex and comprehensive. The ongoing investigation will determine if any suspects can be identified,” she added.

The prosecution declined to comment further.

Seismologists in Denmark and Sweden said earlier that they had recorded tremors in the immediate vicinity of the leaks and that the signals did not resemble those of earthquakes.

The September 26 ruptures of deep-sea pipelines, spewing gas into the ocean that bubbled to the surface the following week, triggered public distress alerts and fears of environmental damage.

A section measuring at least 50 meters is missing from Nord Stream 1, Swedish newspaper Expressen reported on Oct. 18, after filming what it said was the first publicly released footage of the damage.

Russia’s defense ministry said last month that British naval personnel had blown up the pipelines, an allegation London said was false and meant to divert attention from Russian military failures in Ukraine.