Swedish authorities said Thursday they found evidence of detonations at the site of the Nord Stream I and II gas pipeline damage. The evidence supports suspicions that the blasts were deliberate.
The Swedish Security Service said in a statement that there was “extensive damage” to the pipelines, according to the Washington Examiner. “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,” the statement said.
“The continued preliminary investigation must show whether someone can be served with suspicion and later prosecuted,” the statement added. Material from the gas leak site has been retrieved and will be analyzed for evidence, the Washington Examiner wrote. The evidence “strengthened the suspicions of gross sabotage,” the Swedish authorities stated.
German, Swedish, and Danish authorities are all investigating the leaks, but Russia was reportedly not asked to join the investigation. “As of now, there are no plans to ask the Russian side to join investigations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The European Union has said that the Nord Stream damage was the result of sabotage but has not commented on a potential culprit, pending further investigation. Leaders said last week that deliberate sabotage would elicit a “robust and united response,” the Washington Examiner noted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already blamed the West for the pipeline damage. “The sanctions were not enough for the Anglo-Saxons: they moved onto sabotage,” he said. “It is hard to believe but it is a fact that they organised the blasts on the Nord Stream international gas pipelines.” In response, U.S. President Joe Biden accused Putin of spreading “disinformation and lies.” Biden also called the Nord Stream damage “a deliberate act of sabotage.”
Reporting from PJ Media.
