Traces of explosives found at Baltic Sea pipelines: Sweden

A Swedish prosecutor says investigators have found traces of explosives at the Baltic Sea site where two gas natural pipelines were damaged in what he called an act of “gross sabotage.”

Investigators found traces of explosives at the Baltic Sea site where two natural gas pipelines were damaged in an act of “gross sabotage,” the prosecutor leading Sweden's preliminary investigation said on Friday.

Mats Ljungqvist of the Swedish Prosecution Authority said the investigators carefully documented the area where the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines ruptured in September, causing significant methane leaks. The parallel undersea pipelines run from Russia to Germany.

“Analysis carried out shows traces of explosives on several of the foreign objects that were found” at the site, Mr. Ljungqvist said in a statement.

The prosecution authority said the preliminary investigation was “very complex and comprehensive” and further scrutiny would show whether anyone could be charged “with suspicion of crime.”

The leaks, which stopped after several days, occurred in international waters but within the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden. Investigators have not given indications of whom they think might be responsible but reported earlier that the blasts were likely to have involved several hundred pounds of explosives.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday it was “very important to find those who are behind the explosion.”

Sweden's findings of “a sabotage act or a terrorist act — you can call it whatever you like” confirm “the information that the Russian side has had,” Mr. Peskov said. Moscow needs to wait for a full damage assessment to decide whether to repair the pipelines, he said.