Detonations Nord Stream 1&2 – governments speak of sabotage

NAfter three leaks in just a short time on the Baltic gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, an act of sabotage cannot be ruled out. In Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Russia, an attack on the European gas infrastructure is believed to be the cause of the unprecedented damage to both pipelines. From the point of view of German security circles, too, there is much to be said for sabotage.

If it was an attack, only a state actor would come into question given the effort, it said on Tuesday. Although gas is currently not being delivered through any of the pipelines, the gas price has risen due to the uncertainty. On Monday, a sudden drop in pressure was observed in the lines from Russia to Germany.

“Probably a question of sabotage”

According to the Danish government, the leaks are not due to an accident. The authorities had come to the clear conclusion that the acts were intentional and not an accident, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in the evening. Several explosions were observed within a short period of time. There is still no information about who is behind it. The incidents occurred in international waters in the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden off the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm, Frederiksen said.

According to the Swedish government, sabotage must be assumed. The information is far from complete, but two explosions have been identified that caused three leaks, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said in Stockholm in the evening. Based on Swedish and Danish information, the conclusion is that it was probably an intentional act. “So it’s probably a question of sabotage,” she said. They work closely with Germany and the USA, among others. She spoke to Frederiksen, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that evening. The EU was also informed.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said, “Today we do not know the details of what happened, but we can clearly see that there was an act of sabotage”. According to a spokesman, the government in Moscow does not want to rule out any variants. The operator of Nord Stream 2 is also skeptical: the lines are laid in such a way that it is highly unlikely that several lines will be damaged at the same time, for example by a single ship accident.

According to a media report, the United States warned the federal government weeks ago of possible attacks on gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. As the “Spiegel” reports, a corresponding tip from the US secret service CIA was received in Berlin in the summer. A government spokesman said, according to the magazine, that “as a matter of principle, we do not comment publicly on matters relating to any intelligence findings or activities of the intelligence services”.

detonations registered

According to a media report, measuring stations in Sweden and Denmark recorded powerful detonations under water before the Nord Stream gas leaks occurred. There is no doubt that these are blasts or explosions, seismologist Björn Lund from the Swedish Seismological Network (SNSN) told Swedish radio station SVT.