A Swedish investigation of the damaged Nord Stream natural gas pipelines has revealed detonations were set off, strengthening suspicions of “gross sabotage”.
“After completing the crime scene investigation, the Swedish Security Service can conclude that there have been detonations at Nord Stream 1 and 2 in the Swedish economic zone that have caused extensive damage to gas pipelines,” they said in a statement.
Undersea blasts damaged the gas pipelines last week, leading to huge methane leaks. Investigators said the blasts have involved several hundred pounds of explosives.
Although no officials have publicly blamed Russia for the explosions, Western officials are suspicious that Moscow was behind the attack, and say the leaks are a result of deliberate action.
Russia has denied any involvement and pointed out that the leaks occured in areas controlled by US intelligence.
The explosions come at a time of an approaching energy crisis in Europe, as countries try find alternatives to Russian energy supplies as winter rolls in.
Russian officials have expressed their outrage that Moscow has been excluded from the investigation into the gas leaks.
The Kremlin was informed via diplomatic channels that there were no plans to invite Moscow to join an investigation into Nord Stream gas leaks, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
Peskov added that Russia considers it is impossible to conduct such an investigation without Moscow’s participation.
On Tuesday, Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist said that the area of the Nord Stream gas leaks was “a Swedish crime scene investigation and Denmark runs a Danish crime scene”.
“That’s the basic matter. We don’t usually involve foreign powers in our criminal investigations. That’s the basic approach. It is not up for discussion,” he told a briefing.
President Vladimir Putin last week directly accused the United States and its allies of carrying out the attack on the pipelines, which has threatened to put them permanently out of use.
