The cause of the gas route explosion remains a hotly debated topic between Russia, Ukraine and Western countries.
Sweden has announced it has concluded its investigation into the 2022 explosion that crippled Russia's Nord Stream pipeline.
Stockholm prosecutors announced on Wednesday that they had closed their investigation into an apparent attack in September 2022, nearly seven months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The still-unexplained explosions at Nord Steam's Units 1 and 2 come as Europe struggles to wean itself from importing large quantities of Russian gas to supply Germany, with the Kremlin, Ukraine and the West All countries denounced the same.
Swedish authorities had previously said they suspected actors from an unknown country were involved, but said they would suspend the investigation after confirming the incident was not under Swedish jurisdiction.
Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said the main objective was “to establish whether Swedish nationals were involved in this act and whether Swedish territory was used to carry out the act.”
Neither case is true, he added. “In the context of the current situation, we can say that Swedish jurisdiction does not apply.”
Ljungqvist noted that the investigation by German prosecutors was still ongoing, adding that his team had handed over the material to German investigators.
No explanation
On September 27, an undersea explosion ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. The pipeline was Russia's main natural gas supply route to Germany until the Russian government cut off supplies at the end of August of that year.
The explosion also damaged the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was never put into service because Germany suspended the certification process just before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Beyond the geopolitical implications, the leak caused an environmental disaster, affecting local wildlife and releasing large amounts of methane into the Baltic Sea, which analysts say is the largest methane release ever caused by human activity. I think it has the potential to become
The explosion occurred at a depth of about 80 meters (260 feet) in the Baltic Sea, in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark. Seismic measurements showed that the explosion occurred just before the leak was discovered.
More than 16 months after the sabotage, there is no acceptable explanation. A series of reports have variously accused Russia, the United States, and Ukraine of sabotage.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian officials claimed the explosion was a terrorist attack and accused the United States of orchestrating it. The United States denies involvement.
In March 2023, German media claimed that pro-Ukrainian forces sabotaged the pipeline using ships departing from the port of Rostock. German officials expressed alarm at the reports, rejecting suggestions that Ukraine may have ordered the attack.
Swedish prosecutors have previously said state actors were the most likely culprits. However, they cautioned that the identity of the culprit was still unknown, and suggested it was likely to remain unknown.
The Kremlin called Sweden's decision to end the investigation “astounding.”
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would closely monitor what actions Germany would take to investigate the explosion.
Danish police said on Wednesday that their own investigation was continuing and further information would be provided “in the short term.”
