Sweden’s internal security firm said Thursday that its initial investigation into leaks from two Russian oil pipelines in the Baltic Sea “reinforced suspicions of serious sabotage” as the cause, and a prosecutor said evidence had been seized at the scene.
The Swedish security service said the investigation showed that “detonations” had significantly damaged the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines last week. When leaks first appeared in Sweden and Denmark, the government said explosions had been recorded in the area.
The agency, which said what happened in the Baltic Sea is “very serious,” did not disclose the main points of its investigation.
But in a separate statement, Swedish prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist “seizures have been made at the crime scene and will now be investigated. “
Ljungqvist, who conducted the initial investigation, identified the seized evidence. Ljungqvist said he had given “instructions to block [the area] temporarily and conduct an investigation of the crime scene. “
Now that the initial investigation is complete, the pipelines blocked off Sweden will be lifted, he said.
The governments of Denmark and Sweden have said in the past that they suspect several hundred pounds of explosives were involved in wearing down a planned act of sabotage. The Nord Stream 1 and 2 leaks released massive amounts of methane into the air.
Last week, underwater explosions ruptured Nord Stream 1 and its sister pipeline, Nord Stream 2, in two locations off Sweden and two off Denmark. The pipelines were built to carry Russian herbal fuel to Germany.
The Danish government said the two methane leaks they were tracking in foreign waters were halted over the weekend. One of the leaks off Sweden also seems to be over.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of attacking the pipelines, which the United States and its allies have vehemently denied, noting that Russia has the maximum to gain if it wreaks havoc on European energy markets.
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