It is too early to tell who is responsible for the “deliberate sabotage” of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea, four Swedish ministers jointly declared during a press conference in the afternoon of Wednesday 5 October 2022.
The gas pipelines between Russia and Germany suffered two powerful explosions each equal to powerful WW2 aircraft bombs on Monday 26 September, resulting in a total of four gas leaks. One explosion was near the Danish island of Bornholm, the other in between Bornholm and the Swedish naval city of Karlskrona.
“These are the results of deliberate sabotage. But we cannot say yet who is responsible for it,” Foreign Minister Ann Linde stated. “But there is no direct military threat against Sweden.”
The Swedish Coast Guard, supported by the Swedish Navy, have vessels in place near the gas leaks, and have declared a 5 nautical miles no-go zone for ships in the area.
Justice Minister Morgan Johansson: “This is a Swedish preliminary investigation of a crime scene. Although we will have a joint investigation team with Denmark and Germany, our EU partners.” When a reporter asked if Russia would also be admitted – such a statement comes from Moscow – Johansson answered: “The point of this investigation is too do it without interference, with a high level of secrecy. As you all know Russia is not part of the EU.”
Main vessels on the spot are HSwMS Belos (A214), a submarine-rescue and sub-surface investigation ship of the Swedish Navy, as well as Swedish Coast Guard’s KBV 003 Amfitrite. The vessels are equipped to operate in gas rich environments. “But how, when and in what way we are going underneath the surface, I will not speculate on. That is part of the investigation led by the Swedish prosecutor,” the Justice Minister said.
The Nord Stream sabotage in the Swedish economic zone took place on about 70 metres (210 feet) underneath the surface. Despite nobody says it openly, Russia is considered as a main suspect.
“We are currently in the worst security political crisis since the Cold War,” Swedish acting Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson stated. “Russia’s acting in Ukraine and its energy war against Europe will have its consequences, and therefore it is good that the EU imposes new sanctions.” | © 2022 Marcel Burger, nordicreporter.com. Photo of the gas leak taken by a scrambled Danish F-16 fighter jet on 26 September 2022 (Photo by Danish Defence Command)