প্রকাশ: 19/11/2022
Investigators have
found traces of explosives at the site of the damaged Nord Stream gas
pipelines, confirming sabotage had taken place, a Swedish prosecutor said on
Friday.
Swedish and Danish authorities are investigating four holes
in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines which link Russia and Germany via the
Baltic Sea and have become a flashpoint in the Ukraine crisis as gas supplies
in Europe run short.
Denmark last month said a preliminary investigation had
shown that the leaks were caused by powerful explosions.
"Analysis that has now been carried out shows traces of
explosives on several of the objects that were recovered," the Swedish
Prosecution Authority said in a statement, adding that the findings establish
the incident as "gross sabotage".
It said the continued probe would determine whether it would
be possible to identify those responsible.
Cooperation with authorities in Sweden as well as in other
countries was going very well, lead prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said.
The prosecutor's office declined to give further comment,
including on which explosives were believed to have been used to damage the
pipelines.
Russia will wait until a full damage assessment is done
before deciding on repairs, if any, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on
Friday.
"The very fact that data has already begun to come in,
in favour of confirming a subversive act or a terrorist act... once again
confirms the information that the Russian side has," Peskov told his daily
call with reporters.
"It is very important not to stop, it is very important
to find the one behind this explosion."
Neither Gazprom, nor the Nord Stream 1 and 2 replied to
Reuters requests for comment.
Seismologists in Denmark and Sweden previously said they had
registered tremors in the immediate vicinity of the leaks and that the signals
did not resemble those from earthquakes.
Danish police declined to comment on the Swedish findings.
The 26 Sept ruptures of the seabed pipelines, spewing
gas into the ocean that bubbled to the surface in the week that followed,
triggered warnings of public hazard and fears of environmental damage.
A section measuring at least 50 metres (164 feet) is missing
from Nord Stream 1, Swedish daily Expressen reported on 18 Oct after
filming what it said were the first publicly released images of the damage.
Russia's defence ministry last month said that British navy
personnel blew up the pipelines, a claim that London said was false and
designed to distract from Russian military failures in Ukraine.
- Reuters
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