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This Tuesday, September 27, three leaks were confirmed in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipes in economic zones of Sweden and Denmark, under the Baltic Sea, after two explosions. The gas pipelines were out of service but were full of gas, something that has raised alerts of possible sabotage with cross accusations between the West and Russia, amid tensions over sanctions arising from the war in Ukraine.
It was sudden. The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, suffered a sudden pressure drop in economic zones in Sweden and Denmark between Monday and Tuesday. All preceded by two explosions at the site of the leaks, reported by the Swedish National Seismic Service, which triggered three gas leaks.
A strange coincidence that has raised sabotage alerts in the midst of the energy crisis between the West and Russia. And it is that none of the gas pipelines -Nord Stream 1 and 2- were active, but they were filled with natural gas.
The Nord Stream 1 has been stopped for weeks after an oil leak in the only Russian station that was still operating; and 2 was never in operation, after Germany suspended it shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“It’s hard to imagine it being accidental,” said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, noting the “unusual” nature of the three simultaneous leaks despite the distance between them.
Now, the authorities of Germany, Denmark and Sweden are investigating the facts. The Danish Navy shared images showing large masses of bubbles on the water surface from the three leaks, with a diameter of between 200 and 1,000 meters.
“When we talk about such a large energy release, few things other than an explosion can cause it … You can see that they are quite sudden. It is a very sudden energy release. It is not a slow collapse of something,” he said. Peter Schmidt, seismologist at Uppsala University told the AFP agency.
After the events, the Danish government declared a state of emergency in the country’s electricity and gas sectors and warned of the “harmful climate” effect of the methane that has risen into the atmosphere after leaks.
Who could be behind the sabotage?
Although there are still no conclusions about whether it is sabotage or not, there are mixed accusations about its possible authorship.
“Well, this is just speculation, but Russia might want to issue a strategic warning to NATO and the West to say, ‘Look, we’re capable of manipulating and sabotaging deep sea infrastructure,'” said Johannes Peters, director of the Center for Maritime Strategy and Security from the University of Kiel to Reuters.
However, the Kremlin said it was “very alarmed” by what happened. And he also threw accusations into the air.
“No version can be ruled out,” replied the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov, when asked if it could be sabotage.
Ukraine was quick to point the finger directly at Moscow, in what it called “a planned terrorist attack by Russia and an act of aggression towards the European Union.”
“Gas leak” from NS-1 is nothing more than a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards the EU. ?? wants to destabilize economic situation in Europe and cause pre-winter panic. The best response and security investment — tanks for ??. Especially German ones…
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) September 27, 2022
The European Union and the United States were much more cautious about this and were inclined to wait for the evidence before launching any accusations.
“We are not going to speculate on whether it is sabotage or not. We have no information on the elements to determine what is the reason for the leaks,” said Eric Mamer, a spokesman for the European Commission.
The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines have been at the center of geopolitical tensions, ultimately leading to Russia cutting off gas supplies to Europe in retaliation for Western sanctions.
Gazprom, the Russian energy company, progressively reduced the volumes of gas supplied through Nord Stream 1 until it completely closed the pipeline at the end of August. Something that he justified by claiming that Western sanctions were delaying the necessary repairs to the infrastructure.
Some countries in the bloc, such as Germany, are highly dependent on Russian gas and have been affected by this progressive supply cut. The European nation accused Moscow of using energy as a “weapon” amid tensions over the war in Ukraine.
Which is why many have suggested that Russia could be behind these new leaks. Among these, the German newspaper ‘Tagesspiegel’, who published that the leaks could be the result of “targeted attacks”.
“We cannot imagine a scenario that is not a targeted attack,” said a source close to the government. to the middle german.
Accusations that will have to be contrasted with the relevant investigations before anything can be confirmed.
With Reuters, AFP and EFE
