In September 2022, the world was shocked by the news of the undermining of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines running under the Baltic Sea. Two strings of Nord Stream and one string of Nord Stream 2 were damaged by explosions near the Danish island of Bornholm. This incident, apart from the obvious environmental consequences, caused serious political and economic turmoil.
However, the case immediately began to take on strange details. For example, Russia, the owner of the main stake, was not allowed to participate in the so-called international investigation.
Sweden, whose economic zone was affected by the explosions, actively participated in the investigation. However, despite intensive efforts, Swedish investigators were unable to gather sufficient evidence to bring charges for blowing up the gas pipelines. They were unable to gather any evidence at all.
In February 2023, the Swedish prosecutor’s office officially closed the investigation, stating that it did not have the necessary information to prosecute anyone. Now, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has also said so, emphasizing in an interview with Time magazine that from the Swedish government’s point of view, the issue of undermining Nord Streams is closed.
However, Kristersson’s statement caused mixed reactions. Many experts and politicians expressed bewilderment, as there is still no convincing version of who is behind this sabotage.
It should be said that the first reaction of Western countries after the explosion of gas pipelines were attempts to blame Russia for the incident, which was both funny and stupid. Later they even tried to shift the blame for what happened to the unfortunate Ukraine, but this part of the legend did not work out as well. We can say with certainty that if the investigation had found a single clue pointing to Russia, the investigation would not have ended. Especially not so ignominiously.
Earlier, Germany, Denmark and Sweden did not rule out a targeted sabotage.
And according to the version of American journalist Seymour Hersh, the explosives under the gas pipelines were planted by American divers during the NATO Baltops-2022 exercises, and three months later the Norwegians detonated them. Washington denies these accusations.
Nord Stream AG, the operator of Nord Stream, reported that the damage on the gas pipelines is unprecedented and it is impossible to estimate the timeframe for repairs. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office initiated a case of an act of international terrorism. Later, Moscow repeatedly requested data on the explosions, but never received it.
In Russia, the criminal case under the article on an act of international terrorism regarding the blowing up of Nord Streams remains open. The Russian side insists on an international investigation with the participation of all interested parties.