Blasts precede Baltic pipeline leaks
EU Action
European authorities are currently investigating the leaks, the WSJ notes, as leaders float the potential for sabotage.
In Poland, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki declared without citing evidence that the pipelines were intentionally damaged. The president of Denmark and — curiously — Russia itself also said sabotage could be the root cause of the problem.
The Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) announced earlier on Tuesday that it had found a total of three gas leaks in Danish and Swedish waters near a small Baltic island, the WSJ reports. The agency warned sailors to keep a distance of five nautical miles or more away from the Swedish island, and also cautioned cautioned pilots to keep at least 1,000 meters over the site of the leaks.
Seismic Proportions
Seismologists said that they detected two tremors in the area of the leaks early Monday morning, and have said that they don't believe they were of natural origin.
"We are pretty sure that the two events were blasts," Swedish National Seismic Network seismologist told the WSJ. "They are not earthquakes."
Though the pipelines were not running, gas prices rose five percent in the wake of the news, the WSJ notes — another example of how, regardless of the cause, this is a huge deal in an already-catastrophic situation in Europe.
READ MORE: Europe Investigates Unexplained Leaks in Nord Stream Gas Pipelines [The Wall Street Journal]
More on the Ukraine invasion: Russia Warns That Nuclear Plant It Captured May Leak Waste Over Europe
Nordic Nonsense
Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines, which supply Europe with most of its natural gas, have sprung leaks after apparent explosions, leading to concern that the equipment might have been intentionally sabotaged as an escalation in Russia's Ukrainian conflict.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, the pipeline pair act as the main links for Russian natural gas between Europe and Germany — and by extension the rest of Western Europe — and have been at the center of the escalating Ukraine conflict, with Russian President Vladimir Putin appearing to use the pipelines and the much-needed energy they supply as leverage in the face of sanctions from the European Union.
Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines, which supply Europe with most of its natural gas, have sprung leaks after apparent explosions, leading to concern that the equipment might have been intentionally sabotaged as an escalation in Russia's Ukrainian conflict.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, the pipeline pair act as the main links for Russian natural gas between Europe and Germany — and by extension the rest of Western Europe — and have been at the center of the escalating Ukraine conflict, with Russian President Vladimir Putin appearing to use the pipelines and the much-needed energy they supply as leverage in the face of sanctions from the European Union.
EU Action
European authorities are currently investigating the leaks, the WSJ notes, as leaders float the potential for sabotage.
In Poland, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki declared without citing evidence that the pipelines were intentionally damaged. The president of Denmark and — curiously — Russia itself also said sabotage could be the root cause of the problem.
The Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) announced earlier on Tuesday that it had found a total of three gas leaks in Danish and Swedish waters near a small Baltic island, the WSJ reports. The agency warned sailors to keep a distance of five nautical miles or more away from the Swedish island, and also cautioned cautioned pilots to keep at least 1,000 meters over the site of the leaks.
Seismic Proportions
Seismologists said that they detected two tremors in the area of the leaks early Monday morning, and have said that they don't believe they were of natural origin.
"We are pretty sure that the two events were blasts," Swedish National Seismic Network seismologist told the WSJ. "They are not earthquakes."
Though the pipelines were not running, gas prices rose five percent in the wake of the news, the WSJ notes — another example of how, regardless of the cause, this is a huge deal in an already-catastrophic situation in Europe.
READ MORE: Europe Investigates Unexplained Leaks in Nord Stream Gas Pipelines [The Wall Street Journal]
More on the Ukraine invasion: Russia Warns That Nuclear Plant It Captured May Leak Waste Over Europe
Futurism
Blasts precede Baltic pipeline leaks, sabotage seen likely
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Denmark said Tuesday it believed “deliberate actions” by unknown perpetrators were behind big leaks, which seismologists said followed powerful explosions, in two natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
Blasts precede Baltic pipeline leaks, sabotage seen likely
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Denmark said Tuesday it believed “deliberate actions” by unknown perpetrators were behind big leaks, which seismologists said followed powerful explosions, in two natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
Blasts precede Baltic pipeline leaks, sabotage seen likely
© Provided by The Canadian Press
European leaders and experts pointed to possible sabotage amid the energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. Although filled with gas, neither pipeline is currently supplying it to Europe.
“It is the authorities’ clear assessment that these are deliberate actions -– not accidents,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.
But she added that “there is no information indicating who could be behind it.” Frederiksen also rejected the suggestion that the incident was an attack on Denmark, saying the leaks occurred in international waters.
The incident overshadowed the inauguration of a long-awaited pipeline that will bring Norwegian gas to Poland to bolster the continent’s energy independence from Moscow.
The first explosion was recorded early Monday southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm, said Bjorn Lund, director of the Swedish National Seismic Network. A second, stronger blast northeast of the island that night was equivalent to a magnitude-2.3 earthquake. Seismic stations in Denmark, Norway and Finland also registered the explosions.
“There’s no doubt, this is not an earthquake,” Lund said.
On Wednesday, Danish defense minister Morten Bødskov will travel to Brussels to discuss the leaks with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said nearby Sweden, Germany and Poland have been kept informed, and “we will inform and reach out to Russia in this case.”
He said Denmark’s foreign intelligence service didn’t see any increased military threat against Denmark after the three leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines.
They created a foamy white area on the water's surface, images released by Denmark's military show. Danish Energy Minister Dan Jørgensen said that “we cannot say how long the leak will go" on for as the gas has not been turned off. There was no indication when the gas would be turned off.
The German operator of the pipelines, Nord Stream AG, said it’s preparing a survey to assess the damage in cooperation with local authorities.
“Currently, it is not possible to estimate a timeframe for restoring the gas transport infrastructure,” a company statement said. “The causes of the incident will be clarified as a result of the investigation.”
In Sweden, acting Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said “it is probably a case of sabotage,” but not an attack on Sweden.
Andersson added that neighboring oil-rich Norway “has informed us about increased drone activity in the North Sea and the measures they have taken in connection with it.”
Foreign Minister Ann Linde said that Sweden “(is) not ruling out any scenarios and we will not speculate about motive or actor.”
Related video: Ukraine accuses Russia of sabotaging gas pipelines
Duration 0:23 View on Watch
European leaders and experts pointed to possible sabotage amid the energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. Although filled with gas, neither pipeline is currently supplying it to Europe.
“It is the authorities’ clear assessment that these are deliberate actions -– not accidents,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.
But she added that “there is no information indicating who could be behind it.” Frederiksen also rejected the suggestion that the incident was an attack on Denmark, saying the leaks occurred in international waters.
The incident overshadowed the inauguration of a long-awaited pipeline that will bring Norwegian gas to Poland to bolster the continent’s energy independence from Moscow.
The first explosion was recorded early Monday southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm, said Bjorn Lund, director of the Swedish National Seismic Network. A second, stronger blast northeast of the island that night was equivalent to a magnitude-2.3 earthquake. Seismic stations in Denmark, Norway and Finland also registered the explosions.
“There’s no doubt, this is not an earthquake,” Lund said.
On Wednesday, Danish defense minister Morten Bødskov will travel to Brussels to discuss the leaks with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said nearby Sweden, Germany and Poland have been kept informed, and “we will inform and reach out to Russia in this case.”
He said Denmark’s foreign intelligence service didn’t see any increased military threat against Denmark after the three leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines.
They created a foamy white area on the water's surface, images released by Denmark's military show. Danish Energy Minister Dan Jørgensen said that “we cannot say how long the leak will go" on for as the gas has not been turned off. There was no indication when the gas would be turned off.
The German operator of the pipelines, Nord Stream AG, said it’s preparing a survey to assess the damage in cooperation with local authorities.
“Currently, it is not possible to estimate a timeframe for restoring the gas transport infrastructure,” a company statement said. “The causes of the incident will be clarified as a result of the investigation.”
In Sweden, acting Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said “it is probably a case of sabotage,” but not an attack on Sweden.
Andersson added that neighboring oil-rich Norway “has informed us about increased drone activity in the North Sea and the measures they have taken in connection with it.”
Foreign Minister Ann Linde said that Sweden “(is) not ruling out any scenarios and we will not speculate about motive or actor.”
Related video: Ukraine accuses Russia of sabotaging gas pipelines
Duration 0:23 View on Watch
Norway, Poland open new gas pipeline as Nord Stream leaks
France 24
The escaped natural gas is made up almost entirely of methane. — the second biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. David Hastings, a retired chemical oceanographer in Gainesville, Florida, said much of the gas would rise through the sea and enter the atmosphere. “There is no question that the largest environmental impact of this is to the climate, because methane is a really potent greenhouse gas,” he said.
According to United Nations data, methane is 82.5 times worse for the climate than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame, because it so effectively absorbs the heat of the sun.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the events “an act of sabotage." During a ceremony in northwestern Poland, Morawiecki, Denmark's Frederiksen and Polish President Andrzej Duda symbolically opened the valve of a yellow pipe belonging to the Baltic Pipe, a new system sending Norwegian gas across Denmark to Poland.
"The era of Russian domination in the gas sphere is coming to an end," Morawiecki declared. “An era that was marked by blackmail, threats and extortion.”
No official presented evidence of what caused the leaks, but with distrust of Russia running high, some feared Moscow sabotaged its own infrastructure out of spite or to warn that pipelines are vulnerable to attack. The leaks raised the stakes on whether energy infrastructure was being targeted and led to a small bump in natural gas prices.
“We can clearly see that this is an act of sabotage, an act that probably means a next step of escalation in the situation that we are dealing with in Ukraine,” Morawiecki said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that American officials have not confirmed sabotage or an attack.
Anders Puck Nielsen, a researcher with the Center for Maritime Operations at the Royal Danish Defence College, said the timing of the leaks was “conspicuous” given the ceremony for the Baltic Pipe. He said perhaps someone sought “to send a signal that something could happen to the Norwegian gas.”
The extent of the damage means the Nord Stream pipelines are unlikely to be able to carry any gas to Europe this winter even if there was political will to bring them online, analysts at the Eurasia Group said. Russia has halted flows on the 1,224-kilometer (760-mile) Nord Stream 1 pipeline during the war, while Germany prevented them from ever starting in the parallel Nord Stream 2.
“Depending on the scale of the damage, the leaks could even mean a permanent closure of both lines,” analysts Henning Gloystein and Jason Bush wrote.
Puck Nielsen said of possible sabotage that “technically speaking, this is not difficult. It just requires a boat. It requires some divers that know how to handle explosive devices.”
“But I think if we look at who would actually benefit from disturbances, more chaos on the gas market in Europe, I think there’s basically only one actor right now that actually benefits from more uncertainty, and that is Russia," he said.
Asked if the leaks may have been caused by sabotage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “no version could be excluded.”
“This is an unprecedented situation that requires an urgent investigation. We are extremely worried by this news,” he said in a conference call with reporters.
Danish and Swedish maritime authorities issued navigation warnings, and established a prohibited area for vessels. Ships may lose buoyancy, and there may also be a risk of ignition above the water and in the air.
The Nord Stream pipelines have been at the center of an energy clash between Europe and Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in late February. Plunging Russian gas supplies have caused prices to soar, pressuring governments to help ease the pain of sky-high energy bills for households and businesses as winter nears. The crisis also has raised fears of rationing and recession.
The Baltic Pipe is a prominent element in the European Union's search for energy security and is to start bringing Norwegian gas through Denmark and along the Baltic Sea to Poland on Oct. 1.
Simone Tagliapietra, an energy expert with the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, speculated that the leaks could have been caused by Russian sabotage or anti-Russian sabotage.
One possibility is Russia signaling it “is breaking forever with Western Europe and Germany” as Poland inaugurates its pipeline with Norway, he said.
“In any case, this is a stark reminder of the exposure to risk of Europe’s gas infrastructure,” Tagliapietra said.
___
Olsen reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Keyton from Stockholm. Associated Press writers Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Adam Schreck in Kyiv, Ukraine, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed.
Monika Scislowska, Jan M. Olsen And David Keyton, The Associated Press
The escaped natural gas is made up almost entirely of methane. — the second biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. David Hastings, a retired chemical oceanographer in Gainesville, Florida, said much of the gas would rise through the sea and enter the atmosphere. “There is no question that the largest environmental impact of this is to the climate, because methane is a really potent greenhouse gas,” he said.
According to United Nations data, methane is 82.5 times worse for the climate than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame, because it so effectively absorbs the heat of the sun.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the events “an act of sabotage." During a ceremony in northwestern Poland, Morawiecki, Denmark's Frederiksen and Polish President Andrzej Duda symbolically opened the valve of a yellow pipe belonging to the Baltic Pipe, a new system sending Norwegian gas across Denmark to Poland.
"The era of Russian domination in the gas sphere is coming to an end," Morawiecki declared. “An era that was marked by blackmail, threats and extortion.”
No official presented evidence of what caused the leaks, but with distrust of Russia running high, some feared Moscow sabotaged its own infrastructure out of spite or to warn that pipelines are vulnerable to attack. The leaks raised the stakes on whether energy infrastructure was being targeted and led to a small bump in natural gas prices.
“We can clearly see that this is an act of sabotage, an act that probably means a next step of escalation in the situation that we are dealing with in Ukraine,” Morawiecki said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that American officials have not confirmed sabotage or an attack.
Anders Puck Nielsen, a researcher with the Center for Maritime Operations at the Royal Danish Defence College, said the timing of the leaks was “conspicuous” given the ceremony for the Baltic Pipe. He said perhaps someone sought “to send a signal that something could happen to the Norwegian gas.”
The extent of the damage means the Nord Stream pipelines are unlikely to be able to carry any gas to Europe this winter even if there was political will to bring them online, analysts at the Eurasia Group said. Russia has halted flows on the 1,224-kilometer (760-mile) Nord Stream 1 pipeline during the war, while Germany prevented them from ever starting in the parallel Nord Stream 2.
“Depending on the scale of the damage, the leaks could even mean a permanent closure of both lines,” analysts Henning Gloystein and Jason Bush wrote.
Puck Nielsen said of possible sabotage that “technically speaking, this is not difficult. It just requires a boat. It requires some divers that know how to handle explosive devices.”
“But I think if we look at who would actually benefit from disturbances, more chaos on the gas market in Europe, I think there’s basically only one actor right now that actually benefits from more uncertainty, and that is Russia," he said.
Asked if the leaks may have been caused by sabotage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “no version could be excluded.”
“This is an unprecedented situation that requires an urgent investigation. We are extremely worried by this news,” he said in a conference call with reporters.
Danish and Swedish maritime authorities issued navigation warnings, and established a prohibited area for vessels. Ships may lose buoyancy, and there may also be a risk of ignition above the water and in the air.
The Nord Stream pipelines have been at the center of an energy clash between Europe and Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in late February. Plunging Russian gas supplies have caused prices to soar, pressuring governments to help ease the pain of sky-high energy bills for households and businesses as winter nears. The crisis also has raised fears of rationing and recession.
The Baltic Pipe is a prominent element in the European Union's search for energy security and is to start bringing Norwegian gas through Denmark and along the Baltic Sea to Poland on Oct. 1.
Simone Tagliapietra, an energy expert with the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, speculated that the leaks could have been caused by Russian sabotage or anti-Russian sabotage.
One possibility is Russia signaling it “is breaking forever with Western Europe and Germany” as Poland inaugurates its pipeline with Norway, he said.
“In any case, this is a stark reminder of the exposure to risk of Europe’s gas infrastructure,” Tagliapietra said.
___
Olsen reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Keyton from Stockholm. Associated Press writers Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Adam Schreck in Kyiv, Ukraine, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed.
Monika Scislowska, Jan M. Olsen And David Keyton, The Associated Press
Nord Stream operator decries ‘unprecedented’ damage to three pipelines
Mary Ilyushina, Meg Kelly - 16h ago
The operator of the Nord Stream pipelines built to carry Russian gas to Europe on Tuesday reported “unprecedented” damage to the system, raising suspicions of sabotage after mysterious leaks caused sudden drops in pressure to three underwater lines in the Baltic Sea.
Nord Stream operator decries ‘unprecedented’ damage to three pipelines
Mary Ilyushina, Meg Kelly - 16h ago
The operator of the Nord Stream pipelines built to carry Russian gas to Europe on Tuesday reported “unprecedented” damage to the system, raising suspicions of sabotage after mysterious leaks caused sudden drops in pressure to three underwater lines in the Baltic Sea.
Nord Stream operator decries ‘unprecedented’ damage to three pipelines
© Danish Defence Command/Via Reuters
The leaks had no immediate impact on energy supplies to the European Union but raised concerns about serious environmental damage from methane, a greenhouse gas that is a major contributor to climate change.
“The damage that occurred in one day simultaneously at three lines of offshore pipelines of the Nord Stream system are unprecedented,” the company, Nord Stream AG, said in a statement to Russian state news agencies.Russia’s Gazprom says it won’t reopen Nord Stream gas pipeline to Europe as planned
Two of the damaged pipes are part of Nord Stream 1, normally a major transmission line of Russian natural gas to Europe, while the third is part of Nord Stream 2, which Western nations have blocked from becoming fully operational as part of sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Russia has cut transmission through Nord Stream 1 in retaliation for Western sanctions, though the Kremlin has also blamed technical failures. Gas, however, remains in the undersea pipelines even if deliveries are halted.
Officials said that the damage may have been sabotage. “It is hard to imagine that it is accidental,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in Poland, according to the Danish newspaper Politiken. “We cannot rule out sabotage, but it is too early to conclude.”
Part of the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline shown in 2011. After mysterious drops in pressure overnight, the operator of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 reported damage to three underwater pipes in the Baltic Sea. (John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images)© John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images
Frederiksen spoke at a ceremony in Goleniów, Poland, on Tuesday for the opening of the new Baltic Pipe, which will carry natural gas to Poland and neighboring countries from Norway through Denmark.
Europe has been scrambling to diversify supplies and reduce reliance on Russian energy.
After Russia cut off Nord Stream 1 in retaliation for the sanctions, halting supplies to Germany, Poland and other nations, European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, accused the Kremlin of using fossil fuels for “blackmail.”
An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was likely to blame for the new leaks.
“‘Gas leak’ from NS-1 is nothing more that a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression toward EU,” the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted.
A spokesman for the European Commission said that although gas supplies were not at risk because of the new leaks, officials were concerned about potential environmental damage.
“This hasn’t affected the security of supply as yet,” the spokesman, Tim McPhie, said. “As you know deliveries have been zero on Nord Stream 1 anyway, and Nord Stream 2 is not yet authorized to operate. We are also analyzing the potential impact of these leaks of methane, which is a gas which of course has considerable effects on climate change, and we are in touch with the member states about the potential impact on maritime navigation.”
Henning Gloystein, an energy analyst with the Eurasia group, told The Washington Post, the prospect of this burst being an accident is “terribly improbable” given there are at least three places with breaks in one area. Most European governments are now putting their energy infrastructure on a heightened alert, he said, because of fears this was the beginning of an asymmetrical attack.
Moreover, the combustible gas leak is dangerous for people and the surrounding environment, he said.
“A massive leak of gas is very methane heavy,” Gloystein stressed, which is “bad for the ocean immediately and will rise into the atmosphere.”
Still, the damage to the three pipelines delivered yet another reminder that Europe must brace for a difficult winter without reliable supplies of Russian gas. In its statement the Nord Stream operator said “it is impossible to estimate” when the pipelines will be fixed.
When Russia halted supplies via Nord Stream 1 earlier this month citing technical problems, it accused the West of refusing to provide turbines needed for repairs.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Swedish Maritime Authority had issued a warning of two leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Swedish and Danish waters. The warning came shortly after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 pipe was discovered in Danish waters.
Danish and Swedish authorities said they were investigating the leaks and introduced a five-mile radius exclusion zone, near the Danish island of Bornholm, where ships are banned.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday said the Russian government was “extremely concerned” about the damage.
“This is very alarming information, there is some damage in the pipe in the Danish economic zone, it is not yet clear what kind,” he told reporters during his daily conference call. “The pressure has dropped considerably. This is an unprecedented situation that needs to be dealt with urgently.”
Peskov also said Russia is not “excluding any options” after a report by the German newspaper Tagesspiegel, suggesting potential sabotage.
The European Commission’s chief spokesman, Eric Mamer, said the cause of the leaks was still unknown. “We believe we do not have the elements in order to determine what is the reason for the leak,” Mamer said. “Obviously, any act of sabotage on any infrastructure is something that we would condemn.”
Ilyushina reported from Riga, Latvia, Kelly from Berlin. Beatriz Rios in Brussels contributed to this report.
The leaks had no immediate impact on energy supplies to the European Union but raised concerns about serious environmental damage from methane, a greenhouse gas that is a major contributor to climate change.
“The damage that occurred in one day simultaneously at three lines of offshore pipelines of the Nord Stream system are unprecedented,” the company, Nord Stream AG, said in a statement to Russian state news agencies.Russia’s Gazprom says it won’t reopen Nord Stream gas pipeline to Europe as planned
Two of the damaged pipes are part of Nord Stream 1, normally a major transmission line of Russian natural gas to Europe, while the third is part of Nord Stream 2, which Western nations have blocked from becoming fully operational as part of sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Russia has cut transmission through Nord Stream 1 in retaliation for Western sanctions, though the Kremlin has also blamed technical failures. Gas, however, remains in the undersea pipelines even if deliveries are halted.
Officials said that the damage may have been sabotage. “It is hard to imagine that it is accidental,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in Poland, according to the Danish newspaper Politiken. “We cannot rule out sabotage, but it is too early to conclude.”
Part of the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline shown in 2011. After mysterious drops in pressure overnight, the operator of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 reported damage to three underwater pipes in the Baltic Sea. (John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images)© John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images
Frederiksen spoke at a ceremony in Goleniów, Poland, on Tuesday for the opening of the new Baltic Pipe, which will carry natural gas to Poland and neighboring countries from Norway through Denmark.
Europe has been scrambling to diversify supplies and reduce reliance on Russian energy.
After Russia cut off Nord Stream 1 in retaliation for the sanctions, halting supplies to Germany, Poland and other nations, European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, accused the Kremlin of using fossil fuels for “blackmail.”
An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was likely to blame for the new leaks.
“‘Gas leak’ from NS-1 is nothing more that a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression toward EU,” the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted.
A spokesman for the European Commission said that although gas supplies were not at risk because of the new leaks, officials were concerned about potential environmental damage.
“This hasn’t affected the security of supply as yet,” the spokesman, Tim McPhie, said. “As you know deliveries have been zero on Nord Stream 1 anyway, and Nord Stream 2 is not yet authorized to operate. We are also analyzing the potential impact of these leaks of methane, which is a gas which of course has considerable effects on climate change, and we are in touch with the member states about the potential impact on maritime navigation.”
Henning Gloystein, an energy analyst with the Eurasia group, told The Washington Post, the prospect of this burst being an accident is “terribly improbable” given there are at least three places with breaks in one area. Most European governments are now putting their energy infrastructure on a heightened alert, he said, because of fears this was the beginning of an asymmetrical attack.
Moreover, the combustible gas leak is dangerous for people and the surrounding environment, he said.
“A massive leak of gas is very methane heavy,” Gloystein stressed, which is “bad for the ocean immediately and will rise into the atmosphere.”
Still, the damage to the three pipelines delivered yet another reminder that Europe must brace for a difficult winter without reliable supplies of Russian gas. In its statement the Nord Stream operator said “it is impossible to estimate” when the pipelines will be fixed.
When Russia halted supplies via Nord Stream 1 earlier this month citing technical problems, it accused the West of refusing to provide turbines needed for repairs.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Swedish Maritime Authority had issued a warning of two leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Swedish and Danish waters. The warning came shortly after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 pipe was discovered in Danish waters.
Danish and Swedish authorities said they were investigating the leaks and introduced a five-mile radius exclusion zone, near the Danish island of Bornholm, where ships are banned.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday said the Russian government was “extremely concerned” about the damage.
“This is very alarming information, there is some damage in the pipe in the Danish economic zone, it is not yet clear what kind,” he told reporters during his daily conference call. “The pressure has dropped considerably. This is an unprecedented situation that needs to be dealt with urgently.”
Peskov also said Russia is not “excluding any options” after a report by the German newspaper Tagesspiegel, suggesting potential sabotage.
The European Commission’s chief spokesman, Eric Mamer, said the cause of the leaks was still unknown. “We believe we do not have the elements in order to determine what is the reason for the leak,” Mamer said. “Obviously, any act of sabotage on any infrastructure is something that we would condemn.”
Ilyushina reported from Riga, Latvia, Kelly from Berlin. Beatriz Rios in Brussels contributed to this report.
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