Sweden: Nord Stream explosions were sabotage

Remains of explosives were found on the lines.

The leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines can be traced back to serious sabotage. The Swedish public prosecutor’s office came to this conclusion after investigating the explosion sites in the Baltic Sea. Analyzes showed traces of explosives on several foreign bodies discovered, said the prosecutor responsible for the preliminary investigation, Mats Ljungqvist. The advanced analysis work would continue in order to be able to draw more certain conclusions around the incident.

Four leaks discovered at the end of September

At the end of September, after explosions near the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm, a total of four leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines were discovered, two of them in the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden. Days after the leaks were discovered, it was suspected that sabotage was behind them and that they were caused by deliberate detonations. Russia denies being responsible for the leaks.

Russia had pumped gas from Siberia to Germany and other European countries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline until the delivery stop. Nord Stream 2 was never commissioned because of the Russian attack on Ukraine.

It was explosive sabotage!

The leaks at the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines were caused by heavy explosives sabotage. This is the conclusion reached by the public prosecutor’s office and the security police in Sweden. The authorities had started their investigations after the explosions in the Baltic Sea at the end of September.

Analyzes showed traces of explosives on several foreign objects that were discovered, said the prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist, who was entrusted with the preliminary investigations, on Friday. The advanced analysis work would continue in order to be able to draw more certain conclusions around the incident.

What happened?

At the end of September, after explosions near the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm, a total of four leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines were discovered, two of them in the economic zones of Denmark and Sweden.

Days after the leaks were discovered, it was suspected that sabotage was behind them and that they were caused by deliberate detonations. Russia denies being responsible for the leaks.

Is a special unit of Putin behind it?

However: According to BILD information, the trail could lead to a special unit of warmonger Vladimir Putin! This is the 561st Naval Brigade of the Russian military intelligence service GRU.

The underwater sabotage professionals are based in the small village of Primorsk – right on the Baltic Sea coast. From there, according to NATO circles, the divers could have approached the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines to strike.

This is how the attack could have been carried out

Experts described two scenarios of how the bomb attack could have been carried out.

▶︎ Scenario 1: Combat divers have attached explosive devices to the pipelines.

According to Anders Puck from the Royal Danish Defense College in Copenhagen, all you need is a boat and a few specialists trained in handling explosives.

▶︎ Scenario 2: The explosive devices were installed using underwater drones.

Kenneth Øhlenschlæger Buhl from the Department of Strategy and War Science at the Norwegian Defense Academy in Oslo said: “Such drones are operated remotely. They dismount and locate exactly where the lines are. Then they place a bomb on it or next to it, disappear and then boom!”

In both cases it is conceivable that the explosive charges could have been placed a long time ago.