Investigators have found traces of explosives at the site of the damaged Nord Stream pipelines, confirming that sabotage had taken place, 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 Germanyvia the Baltic Sea and have become a flashpoint in the Ukraine crisis.
Denmark last month said a preliminary investigation had shown that the leaks were caused by powerful explosions.
“Analysis that has now been carried out shows traces of explosives on several of the objects that were recovered,” the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement.
“The investigation is highly complex and comprehensive. The ongoing probe will determine whether any suspects can be identified,” it added.
The prosecutor’s office declined to give further comment.
Mohammed Vall of Al Jazeera, reporting from Moscow, says the absence of Russian involvement in the Nord Stream investigation is fueling Russians’ perception that the West is to blame for the damage to the two gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
“Russia has been blaming, and it is still blaming the West, of being behind the sabotage because, they say, the main damage there is against Russian interests,” Vall said of the explosions last month that damaged the pipelines that carry Russian gas to Europe.
“Russia is still demanding a role in this investigation, and without that, the doubts Russia has over the whole thing will remain, and any investigation results will not be accepted here in Moscow,” Vall said.
Putin says Germany is unlikely to take Russian gas via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline’s one remaining undamaged line, two days after Berlin rejected his initial offer.
“A decision has not been made, and it’s unlikely to be made, but that’s no longer our business; it’s the business of our partners,” Putin said.
The Nord Stream pipelines, intended to carry gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, suffered unexplained damage, which European countries have called sabotage.
But while Putin said on Wednesday that Russian gas could still be supplied to Europe through the one remaining intact line of the uncommissioned Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a German government spokesman ruled this out.
“They have to decide what is more important for them: fulfilling some kind of alliance commitment, as they see it, or safeguarding their national interests,” Putin said.
The Russian leader says a mothballed pipeline can ferry energy exports west if it is proven safe following a spate of recent explosions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is ready to resume gas supplies to the European Union via a link of the Germany-bound Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea – an offer quickly rejected by Berlin.
Speaking at a Moscow energy forum on Wednesday, Putin said that one of the two links of the pipeline remained pressurised despite a series of ruptures last month which caused major leaks, sending gas spewing out off the coast of Denmark and Sweden.
TheNord Stream 1pipeline was also ruptured by powerful underwater explosions in September.
Western officials have linked the incidents to “sabotage” but have held back from attributing responsibility for the blasts while investigations by German, Danish and Swedish officials continue.
Putin said that if checks prove the Nord Stream 2 link is safe to operate, Russia stands ready to use the pipeline to pump gas to Europe, adding its capacity stands at 27 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has never brought natural gas to Europe because Germany prevented the flows from ever starting just before Russia launched military action in Ukraine on February 24.
Putin also repeated an earlier accusation that the United States was likely behind the blasts on the Nord Stream pipelines, without providing any evidence to support his claim, and floated the idea of creating an alternative European gas hub via Turkey.
“The act of sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 is an act of international terrorism aimed at undermining energy security of the entire continent by blockingsupplies of cheap energy,” Putin said, alleging that the US wants to force Europe to switch to importing more expensive liquefied natural gas.
The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines sustained significant damage last week as a result of “detonations,” according to the Swedish Security Service’s initial investigation.
The agency also said the leaks from the two Russian gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea “has strengthened the suspicions of serious sabotage” as the cause.
Last week, undersea explosions ruptured Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, at two locations off Sweden and two off Denmark. The pipelines were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany.
While Vladimir Putin accused the West of attacking the pipelines, the US and its allies have vehemently denied it.
The agency did not give details about its investigation, but in a separate statement Swedish prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said: “Seizures have been made at the crime scene and these will now be investigated.”
Danish authorities said the two leaks they were monitoring in international waters stopped over the weekend. One of the leaks off Sweden also appeared to have ended.
A Kremlin spokesperson on Thursday said he did not think the investigation could be objective without Russia’sparticipation after Russia had not been invited to take part.
Ben Wallace, the governmentwill purchase two specialised ships to guard pipes and cables that are submerged in the ocean.
In remarks to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, the defence secretary referred to the “mysterious damage inflicted” last week following leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
There have been suggestions that Russia could have been behind the alleged sabotage of the pipes, including Nord Stream 1 which was already shut but had previously pumped gas from Russia to Europe. Nord Stream 2 had not started operations.
Gas bubbles rise to the surface from the Nord Stream 2 leak
Mr Wallace said the pipeline incident “should remind us of how fragile our economy and infrastructure is to such hybrid attacks”.
“Our intent is to protect them. Our internet and energy are highly reliant on pipelines and cables. Russia makes no secret of its ability to target such infrastructure.”
He went on: “So for that reason, I can announce we recently committed to two specialist ships with the capability to keep our cables and pipelines safe.
“The first multi-role survey ship for seabed warfare will be purchased by the end of this year, fitted out here in the UK, and then operational before the end of next year.
“The second ship will be built in the UK and we will plan to make sure it covers all our vulnerabilities.”
Downing Street says that during her meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen, the leaders agreed that the ruptures of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines on Monday were clearly sabotaged and more work needs to be done to increase energy independence.
Liz Truss has agreed the cause of the leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines was “sabotage”, her spokesperson has said.
The British prime minister was discussing the ruptures in the Russia-Germany gas supply lines with the Danish PM during the latter’s visit to Downing Street on Saturday.
It is believed to be the first time Ms Truss has described what happened in the Baltic Sea on Monday as a deliberate act.
While Western governments are yet to do so, many commentators have said that Russia is most likely to be responsible for damage to the pipelines. Moscow, meanwhile, has sought to blame the West.
Image: Aircrew on board a Danish defense aircraft monitor Nord Stream gas leak over the Baltic Sea
The leaks have caused huge alarm in Europe as, if deliberate attacks are found to have caused them, it reveals how vulnerable the vast network of undersea pipelines and infrastructure is to interference, as the Ukraine war rages on the continent.
The prime ministers also said their nations looked forward to working witheach other more closely through the Joint Expeditionary Force, which involves sending UK troops to the Baltic, to work alongside Danish and other forces.
A Downing Street spokesperson said after the visit of Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen to Number 10: “The leaders stressed the need to stay united in the face of Russia’s despicable action in Ukraine.
“Prime Minister Fredriksen updated the prime minister on the damage caused to the Nord Stream pipelines last week. They agreed the incidents were clearly an act of sabotage. The prime minister offered the UK’s support for the ongoing investigation.
“The leaders agreed that the safety and security of the Baltic Sea are in everyone’s interest, and welcomed increased cooperation through the Joint Expeditionary Force.
“On energy security more widely, the prime minister and Prime Minister Fredriksen agreed on the need for like-minded democracies to work together to increase our energy independence.”
Image:Members of the United Nations Security Council convene at the request of Russia to discuss damage to two Russian gas pipelines to Europe in New York
A network of pipelines runs under the North Sea from gas fields in Britain’s economic zones and there are also electricity and data cables going to and from the UK, including those involving the huge wind farms off the coast.
Overnight, Washington said the US and its allies would send divers to find out what happened before a series of leaks erupted in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipes on Monday night, close to the Danish island of Bornholm.
At the time, they were not carrying gas from Russia to Germany but remained pressurized.
Nord Stream ‘sabotage sends powerful message’
Analysts have said that explosions were the most likely cause for the ruptures.
On Friday, Vladimir Putin, without providing evidence, blamed the United States and its allies for blowing up the pipelines.
At the United Nations, Russia’s ambassador told the UN Security Council that the US had much to gain in gas trade from damage to the Nord Stream pipeline system but stopped short of blaming Washington.
Russians ‘pumping out lies and disinformation’
US President Joe Biden said the leaks were a result of “a deliberate act of sabotage” and added, “now the Russians are pumping out disinformation and lies”.
Gazprom – Russia’s state-owned gas supplier which is the majority shareholder of Nord Stream’s holding company – said 800 million cubic metres of gas had escaped after the blasts.
The United Nations Environment Programme said the release of gas from the pipelines adds up to what is likely the biggest single release of climate-damaging methane ever recorded.
The growing insecurity comes as gas started flowing on Saturday morning to Poland through the new Baltic Pipe pipeline from Norway via Denmark and the Baltic Sea, a move that was supposed to help boost the amount of gas reaching northern Europe after Russia cut supplies in the wake of Ukraine war sanctions
According to the Polish gas pipeline operator, gas has begun to flow via the new Baltic Pipe network from Norway to Poland via Denmark and the Baltic Sea.
The pipeline is at the heart of Poland’s plan, which was developed years before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February, to diversify its gas supply away from Russia.
A Gaz-System spokeswoman told the Reuters news agency that flows started at 6:10 am (4:10 GMT) and nominations, or requestsfor sending gas through the pipeline on October 1, totalled 62.4 million kilowatt-hours.
