Danish police, on Monday, said that they will close the probe into the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Germany.
This comes weeks after Swedish prosecutors also dropped the investigation and stated that they would hand over the evidence uncovered to the investigators of German.
Months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the multi-billion dollar Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines which carry gas under the Baltic Sea were cracked by a series of blasts that occurred in the Swedish and Danish economic zones.
The probe by the Danish police ended with a conclusion that the blasts were intentional but said there is no required basis for pursuing a criminal case in Denmark.
Based on the investigation, the authorities can sum up that the sabotage of the pipelines was intentional,” said the Copenhagen police, in a statement. It added, “At the same time, it is also assessed that there is not the necessary basis for pursuing a criminal case in Denmark.”
Leaks were discovered in September 2022 in three of the four gas lines near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.
The seismic institutes had recorded two large underwater explosions just before the leaks which released large amounts of methane into the water and air.
The decision by the police in Copenhagen drew criticism from Russia. “The situation is close to absurd. On the one hand, they recognise that a sabotage took place, but on the other hand, they are not moving forward,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
Russia has blamed the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine for the blasts, which cut off Russian gas supply to its European market. However, the countries have denied responsibility.
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