Sweden closes investigation into explosions in Nord Stream pipeline
Swedish authorities on Wednesday concluded a more than year-long investigation into the undersea attack on the Nord Stream pipelines, citing a lack of authority to prosecute those responsible for sabotaging the crucial piece of energy infrastructure intended to power West -To supply Europe with Russian gas, to be continued.
“Sweden does not have the jurisdiction to investigate this matter further,” the Swedish Security Service said in a statement on Wednesday. The September 2022 attack over the natural gas pipelines – just seven months after Russia's massive invasion of Ukraine – led to rampant public speculation about who was to blame. Attributing responsibility for the attacks seemed urgent for Europe, while so did Russia seen as a possible perpetratorbut the case became increasingly complex over the past year intelligence suggested that the sabotage had been carried out by a pro-Ukrainian group.
The series of underwater explosions ripped holes in three of the four parts of the Nord Stream pipelines and led officials to conclude that they were most likely caused by a state actor. Some saw the attacks, which nearly damaged a cable carrying electricity from Sweden to Poland, as a warning sign that raised concerns about what other infrastructure might be vulnerable.
The explosions took place in international waters, but also in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark, giving these countries a starting point to investigate.
The crime scene, along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, yielded little concrete evidence the Swedish authorities recognized in the early months of the investigation, even as they kept a close eye on their investigation and refused to join their investigative forces with authorities in Denmark and Germany.
On Wednesday, Swedish authorities said their investigation had been “opened to investigate whether the sabotage was directed against Sweden and thus endangered Sweden's security, and it was determined that this was not the case.”
The Swedish security service cited intensive cooperation with other international authorities and said the investigation's findings had been shared.
After the attacks, Poland and Ukraine openly blamed Russia, albeit without citing evidence. Russia in turn accused the United States, Britain and Ukraine, also without evidence.
Last year, after intelligence suggested that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the sabotage, U.S. officials who reviewed the findings said they had no indication that Ukrainian government officials had any ties to the operation.
Subsequently, several other clues emerged that further fueled the case public speculation and competing narratives.
Mats Ljungqvist, a senior prosecutor leading the Swedish investigation, suggested to The New York Times last year that he had his own suspicions.
'Do I think it was Russia that blew up Nord Stream? I never thought that,” he said. “It doesn't make sense. But just like with a murder, you have to be open to all possibilities.”