Russian navy ship photographed near Nord Stream pipelines days before blasts: Report

A Danish newspaper has claimed quoting the Denmark military that a Russian Navy ship was spotted near the Nord Stream pipelines days before the September 2022 blasts.

Dagbladet Information newspaper on Thursday reported that the Russian submarine rescue ship, SS-750, was spotted in the Baltic Sea just four days before the unexplained explosions near the pipeline that linked Russia to Germany.

The paper quoting Danish defence authorities reported that asmany as 26 images were taken of the ship, which carries a small submarine that is designed to carry out underwater operations.

“The Danish military confirmed that 26 photos of the Russian vessel were taken from a Danish patrol boat in the zone located east of Bornholm on 22 September 2022,” the newspaper said, adding that the photos were classified.

The prosecutor leading Sweden’s investigation into the sabotage has acknowledged the existence of these photographs.

“I’m aware of the information from before…This is not new information to us,” public prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said on Friday, AFP news agency reported.

He, however, did not divulge further on how the probing team intends to use these photographs for investigation, saying that it was “confidential".

Nord Stream blasts: Will do everything we can to stop western cover-up, says Russia

Seven months have passed since the blasts and it has not yet been established who was responsible for it, despite criminal investigations launched by three countries—Germany, Sweden and Denmark—that border the pipeline.

Swedish and Danish authorities termed the blasts an act of deliberate sabotage. In November, Sweden’s Prosecution Authority claimed that residues of explosives and several “foreign objects” were found at the “crime scene” on the seabed, around 100 metres below the surface of the Baltic Sea, close to the Danish Island of Bornholm.

In March, The New York Times reported that US intelligence officials have proof that a “pro-Ukrainian group” was responsible for the blasts, without the involvement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

At that time Ljungqvist said it was “still unclear” who was behind the sabotage, calling it “a complex case”.

“Our primary assumption is that a state is behind it,” he was quoted as saying.

Still, speculations about Russia's involvement haven't been completely ruled out. Last week,a joint investigation by Danish, Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian public broadcasters last week found that Russia has been using civilian vessels to collect intelligence on military activity and critical infrastructure in the North Sea, Politico reported.

(With inputs from agencies)

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