Investigation into Explosions at Nord Stream in Sweden Comes to a Halt

Sweden's public prosecutor has ended an investigation into the explosions that destroyed two pipelines transporting Russian gas to Germany. The blasts occurred in September 2022, and the culprits remain unknown. The investigation aimed to determine if Swedish citizens were involved or if Swedish territory was used. The prosecutor concluded that Swedish jurisdiction did not apply. The Swedish intelligence service, Sapo, shared its gathered information with other countries. Meanwhile, German and Danish authorities are still investigating the series of explosions that damaged three out of the four gas lines near Bornholm island in the Baltic Sea. Experts believe that if Sapo had uncovered additional information, it could have helped the German inquiry. Sapo stated that the decision to close the investigation was due to the belief that Swedish authorities could not pursue the matter further. The pipelines, constructed by Russian company Gazprom, included Nord Stream 2, which was suspended by Germany after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russian ships were found to have engaged in suspicious activities in the area leading up to the explosions. Moscow denounced the sabotage as an act of international terrorism and placed the blame on the US and UK, although there have also been theories suggesting a pro-Ukrainian group may have planned the attack. Ukraine, however, denied any involvement. Recent reports have spotlighted a yacht named the Andromeda, which had chartered in Germany and made stops in Denmark and Poland prior to the blasts. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius cautioned that the Nord Stream explosions could have been a "false flag" operation implicating Ukraine.