Swedish prosecutor plans Nord Stream blast decision this week

Reuters
Mon, February 5, 2024

A satellite image shows gas leaks from Nord Stream pipeline in the Baltic Sea

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -The prosecutor leading Sweden's probe into the Nord Stream gas pipeline blasts in the Baltic Sea in 2022 plans to announce a decision this week on whether to drop the case, press charges or request that someone is detained, his office said on Monday.

The statement confirmed an earlier report by Swedish daily Expressen. It was not immediately clear which day an announcement would be made, a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office said.

The pipelines transporting Russian gas to Germany were ruptured by a series of explosions in Swedish and Danish economic zones.

Sweden shortly after the incident said its investigation in the Swedish economic zone found traces of explosives on site, showing that sabotage had taken place. It has not publicly identified any suspects.

Danish police, who are conducting their own investigation, declined to comment on Monday.

Moscow has accused Britain and the United States of involvement in the blasts and has called for a "transparent international investigation".

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 put Europe's reliance on Russian natural gas in the political spotlight, and the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines hastened the region's switch to other energy suppliers.

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm, additional reporting by Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen, editing by Terje Solsvik)