Gas is pouring into the Baltic Sea from three leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that have been in the middle of recent geopolitical tensions. Source: Forsvaret, Twitter.
Gas leaks on the two Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Europe are suspected to be an act of sabotage.
Gas is pouring into the Baltic Sea from three leaks in underwater sections of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that have been in the middle of recent geopolitical tensions.
Russia has cut its gas supplies to Europe countries in a suspected retaliation for the sanctions that came after the invasion of Ukraine. The pipelines are not currently operating but still contain gas.
Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, called it “very concerning news”, calling for a swift investigation into the incident.
“Indeed, we are talking about some damage of an unclear nature to the pipeline in Denmark’s economic zone.”
He did not rule it out as an act of sabotage, saying “it is impossible to exclude any options”.
On Tuesday, Sweden’s prime minister Magdalena Andersson said there were two blasts detected in relation to the Nord Stream pipeline leaks and information indicates this was likely deliberate.
“We have Swedish intelligence, but we have also received information in our contacts with Denmark, and based on this concluded that this is probably a deliberate act. It is probably a matter of sabotage,” she said.
“It is not a matter of an attack on Swedish or Danish territory. But that said, the government is taking what happened very seriously, not the least in light of the current security situation on our close proximity.”
Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen also said sabotage cannot be eliminated as a possibility.
“We are talking about three leaks with some distance between them, and that’s why it is hard to imagine that it is a coincidence,” she said.
A senior Ukrainian official blamed it on a Russian attack to destabilise Europe without providing proof. Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said, “we don’t know all the details of what happened but we see clearly that it’s an act of sabotage, related to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine”.
According to the Danish Energy Agency, it could take a week for gas to stop draining out of the second pipeline and environment NGOs say the leaks will likely cause significant damage to the environment.
