Swedish authorities claim that the Nord Stream pipeline leaks, which made headlines across the world, were an act of sabotage following the discovery of traces of explosives at the site of the incident.
Four holes in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines are being investigated by Danish and Swedish authorities. The pipelines link Russia with Germany via the Baltic Sea and have caused tensions amid the Ukraine crisis as Europe's gas supplies continue to dwindle.
Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage
Last month, Denmark said that a preliminary investigation into the incident showed that the leaks were caused by powerful explosions. In a statement, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said that the analysis that was carried out showed traces of explosives on several of the objects that were recovered from the site.
The authority added that the continued investigation would determine whether or not it would be possible to identify who was responsible for the incident. In a statement, lead prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said that cooperation with authorities in Sweden and other countries was going well, as per Reuters.
Despite the announcement, the prosecutor's office declined to detail further information regarding the incident, as well as declined to answer which explosives were believed to have been used to damage the pipelines.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov released a statement saying that Russia will wait until a full damage assessment has been conducted before deciding on repairs. In his daily call with reporters, the Russian official said that the very fact that the data has already started to come in, favor of confirming a subversive act or a terrorist act, confirms the information that Moscow has.
According to CNN, Western nations previously said that the leaks were a result of sabotage without claiming who was at fault. Last month, the US also considered offering the use of its most advanced underwater sound reading capabilities to analyze audio recordings from around the time of the explosions.
Continuous Investigations
The US Navy's processing of the sonar signatures provided by Denmark and Sweden could help the investigations by giving them access to a more detailed picture of what was in the area during the time of the explosions and what ultimately caused them.
Sources said that while there are many countries that have capabilities to process underwater sounds, the U.S. has so far the most advanced systems. Long before the Ukraine war, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, have been controversial.
The pipelines gave Russia significant leverage over Europe, which is its biggest customer. However, until this year, European countries have been reluctant to reduce their consumption of Russian energy due to the potential that it would raise prices in the region.
The Swedish Security Service's statement said that advanced analysis work of the incident was still in progress with the aim of drawing definitive conclusions. It added that the probe is extensive and complex and is expected to reveal who is responsible for the explosions.
Within hours of the simultaneous explosions, European officials used the term "sabotage," with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen saying that the blasts were "deliberate actions." Many European leaders also pointed the blame on Russia as the only actor with the technical capability and motivation to damage the pipelines, the Washington Post reported.