Out of service due to the war in Ukraine, the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea are affected by spectacular, mysterious leaks preceded by underwater explosions.
Like the Polish Prime, the President of the European Commission speaks of "sabotage", while the Danish Prime Minister considers these "deliberate acts".
kyiv denounces for its part "a planned terrorist attack" by the Kremlin, without however advancing evidence.
On the American side, Washington, on the other hand, refused to “confirm” an act of sabotage.
“Extremely concerned”, Moscow believes that “no” hypothesis should be excluded.
The leaks should last "at least a week", according to Copenhagen, which judges that these incidents have no consequences for the safety or health of local residents.
The direct environmental impact should also be limited, although unburned natural gas has a powerful greenhouse effect.
The European Union is clear: the problems on Nord Stream are the result of “sabotage”, so the response will be “as strong as possible”.
Out of service because of the war in Ukraine, the gas pipelines linking Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea were both affected by spectacular leaks preceded by underwater explosions.
The three large leaks identified since Monday off the Danish island of Bornholm are visible on the surface with bubbling ranging from 200 meters to one kilometer in diameter, the Danish army announced on Tuesday.
Nord Stream 2 had suffered a sharp drop in pressure on Monday, followed a few hours later by Nord Stream 1, which follows the route under the Baltic.
“We are not talking about an accident”
The President of the European Commission wrote on Tuesday evening on Twitter that she had "spoken about the Nord Stream act of sabotage" with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
“It is paramount to investigate the incidents and shed full light on the events (…) Any deliberate disruption of the active European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest response possible,” added Ursula von der Leyen. .
Shortly before, the Danish Prime Minister had declared that “the clear opinion of the authorities is that these are deliberate acts.
We are not talking about an accident”.
“Detonations took place and it is probably a question of sabotage”, added the resigning Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.
Like Denmark, Sweden, on the other hand, does not see this as an act of aggression against it, the incidents having taken place outside territorial waters, in the exclusive economic zones.
According to Copenhagen, the leaks should last “at least a week”, until all the gas has left the two structures.
The Swedish seismic institute recorded two underwater explosions, "most likely due to detonations", before the incident, like its Norwegian and Danish equivalents.
The Kremlin, towards which many eyes were turned, for its part said it was “extremely concerned”, considering that “no” hypothesis should be excluded, including sabotage.
The adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, Mykhaïlo Podoliak denounced "a planned terrorist attack" by Moscow, without providing evidence.
The Polish prime minister also suggested Russian involvement.
“We clearly see that this is an act of sabotage,” said Mateusz Morawiecki.
"There is no information yet telling us anything about those responsible," said the Danish Prime Minister, however.
On the American side, Washington refused to "confirm" an act of sabotage.
Finally, the Nord Stream consortium acknowledged that “an incident in which three pipes simultaneously experience difficulties on the same day is not ordinary”.
Navigation prohibited in the area
Denmark dispatched two military ships to the scene accompanied by helicopters, and placed its energy infrastructure on orange alert, the second highest level of vigilance.
Navigation was prohibited within a radius of five nautical miles (about nine kilometers) around the three leaks, as well as their overflight within a radius of one kilometer.
According to the Danish authorities, the incidents have no consequences for the safety or health of local residents.
The direct environmental impact should also be limited, although unburned natural gas has a powerful greenhouse effect.
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