Denmark Says Alleged New Explosive Device on Nord Stream Doesn’t Pose Security Threat

Last year, a series of explosions occurred on two Russian gas pipelines to Europe, Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2, with President Vladimir Putin calling the blasts an apparent terrorist attack.

Another explosive device that may have been installed on the Nord Stream gas pipeline does not pose a threat to regional security, the Danish Foreign Ministry has told Russian media.

The Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that they earlier had received information about the explosive device from Russia.

“The relevant bodies have concluded that the device does not pose an immediate security threat and that there is no immediate danger to people or ships in the area. The authorities are investigating and closely monitoring the situation, while the relevant bodies will give additional information when they can,” the statement pointed out.

This comes a few days after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia's energy giant, Gazprom, had discovered possible evidence of another explosive device installed about 30 km from the site of last year's Nord Stream explosions.

According to Putin, the explosive device is installed on the junction of pipes, one of the most vulnerable places for gas pipelines.

In September 2022, underwater blasts occurred at three of the four strings of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 underwater pipelines, built to carry a combined volume of 110 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe annually. As a result of these explosions, the damaged pipelines were rendered inoperable.

Germany, Denmark, and Sweden launched separate investigations into the incident, while Russia was not given any access to their probes. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office opened a case on charges of international terrorism, with President Vladimir Putin describing the explosions as an apparent terrorist attack.

In February 2023, veteran American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh named the American leadership as the mastermind behind the destruction of the gas conduit.

In his expose, Hersh argued that a team of US Navy divers planted explosive charges on the pipelines during summer 2022, to be detonated remotely three months later so as to avoid any suspicion.The charges were planted under the cover of a NATO naval exercise conducted in the region at that time, Hersh said, citing his sources and adding that the operation was carried out by the United States with the assistance from Norway.