Sabotage suspicions 'strengthened' in Nord Stream leaks, says Sweden

Sweden said suspicions of gross sabotage in the recent Nord Stream gas leaks had strengthened after a preliminary investigation, according to local media.

'Detonations' caused 'extensive damage' to both the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, public broadcaster SVT Nyheter reported, citing the Swedish Security Service (SAPO) intelligence agency.

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Underlining that Swedish authorities would analyze the damage to the pipelines, SAPO chief Karl Melin stopped short of giving details on the damage as that would be 'endangering' to the investigation, according to the outlet.

In a press release on the matter, the Swedish Public Prosecutor's Office highlighted the gravity of the situation, adding that the 'authorities involved are fulfilling their respective tasks in the best possible way.'

Sweden's outgoing Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson also said the gas leaks were likely not a coincidence.

'It is likely that a deliberate act -- in other words, sabotage -- caused the leaks, which are located in the Swedish and Danish economic zones. This is thus not a direct attack on Sweden,' said Andersson in a statement published on the government's website.

Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde, for her part, said the incident was the most serious security policy issue that Sweden has faced since 1980, SVT Nyheter reported.

She added that the situation of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 should be seen as an sign 'of the deteriorating security policy' in and near Europe.

'At the moment, we are not sure who did it. However, the suspicion of sabotage should not be perceived as a military threat to Sweden,' Linde said.

SAPO launched an investigation into the incident after four leaks were identified in the Russian-owned pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany and pass through both Denmark and Sweden's exclusive economic zones in the Baltic Sea.

The two Nordic countries raised suspicions soon after the leaks were detected that they were caused by two undersea explosions and were the result of a deliberate act.

Similar sentiments were echoed by the EU, which said the gas leaks were not accidental.

The Danish Energy Agency and Russian energy company Gazprom had announced earlier that the pressure levels in the pipelines have returned to normal, indicating that the gas leaks have stopped.

After inspecting two giant natural gas pipelines from Russia where several leaks occurred last week, Swedish investigators said on Thursday the leaks were caused by detonations that they strongly suspect were acts of sabotage.

Last week, four separate leaks were discovered in pipelines, known as Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, which were built to bring gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany and transit close to Sweden and Denmark. Explosions had been detected nearby just before the leaks occurred, and political leaders in Europe and the United States suggested that the incident was a deliberate act.

Poland and Ukraine have both openly blamed Russia, which has pointed a finger at the United States, and both Moscow and Washington have issued indignant denials.

On Thursday, The Swedish Security Service, the Swedish equivalent of the F.B.I., confirmed the suspicion that saboteurs were behind the leaks.

“Our suspicion of gross sabotage is stronger than before,” Nina Odermalm-Schei, a spokesperson for the agency, said by phone. “We have been able to establish that there have been detonations near Nord Stream 1 and 2 in the Swedish economic zone and the result is extensive damage to the pipelines,” she said.

She said that evidence gathered from the site will now be analyzed by experts with the intention of establishing whether anyone can be prosecuted.

Swedish authorities have been treating the area near Sweden where the leaks occurred as a crime scene, and the investigation is being led by Mats Ljungqvist of the National Security Unit, the part of Sweden’s federal prosecution service which investigates crimes related to national security.

Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden was on her way into a European security summit in Prague on Thursday when she was asked about the theory sabotage had caused the leaks.

“It is very good that we are working intensively on this,” she said, according to the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, citing Sweden’s TT News Agency. “This is about much more than Sweden and Denmark. This is about the European energy supply,” Ms. Andersson said.