Sweden leaning towards dropping Nord Stream pipeline attack investigation: implications for Germany
According to dw.com, German media sources are sharing that prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist, who is overseeing the investigation into the pipeline attack, plans to abandon the proceedings. "The Swedish authorities were most likely unable to identify any specific suspects within their country," we learn. A decision is anticpated in the upcoming days.
Is Sweden going to drop the Nord Stream investigation?
The German prosecutor's office will continue its investigation simultaneously. Local services are "particularly invested" in the fragments of broken pipes that the Swedish military removed from the Baltic Sea shortly after the explosions were confirmed in autumn 2022, according to "Sueddeutsche Zeitung."
The investigators aim to compare the residues of the explosives discovered at the location with those found by German officers on the Andromeda yacht. To the German authorities, this is currently the "most compelling evidence that could lead to the perpetrators".
As of now, the German prosecutor's findings suggest that, most likely, a Ukrainian hired the Andromeda in September 2022, with the costs covered by a Polish company also owned by a Ukrainian.
The yacht, crewed by six individuals, embarked from Rostock in Germany. "It is speculated that a group of divers may have fixed explosive devices to the Nord Stream pipelines. The yacht made several stops, including at the Danish island of Christiansø, in Sandhamn in Sweden, and in Kołobrzeg in Poland," "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" reported.
Throughout the investigation, Germany and Sweden exchanged information closely - the Swedish prosecutor visited the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe, and German investigators recently went to Stockholm to discuss evidence that could be relevant to the German-led investigation.
"Unlike Sweden, Poland has long resisted cooperation with German investigators," emphasized "Sueddeutsche Zeitung."
Despite numerous requests, the Polish authorities have provided minimal information to the German investigators, and even then after significant delays. To date, Poland has not supplied any coverage from surveillance cameras at the port in Kołobrzeg, which could potentially yield fresh information about the Andromeda's crew, the newspaper added.
The investigation, conducted by the German Attorney General's Office together with the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), pertains to intentional explosions and an act of sabotage against national security.
