Following reports of "unprecedented" damage to the lines in the Baltic Sea from the system operator, European officials on Tuesday opened investigations into three inexplicable breaches in the Nord Stream pipelines, which were constructed to transport Russian natural gas to Europe.
Since Russia had already stopped supplying gas to the European Union, the leaks had a little immediate effect on energy supplies. However, gas was still present in the pipes, which raised worries about potential environmental damage from methane leaks. Methane is the primary component of natural gas and is a significant driver of climate change when it is present in the atmosphere. Gas bubbles may be seen rising to the water's surface in images provided by the Danish military.
According to a statement sent to Russian official news outlets by the firm, Nord Stream AG, "the damage that happened in one day simultaneously along three lines of offshore pipes of the Nord Stream system is unusual."
European officials hypothesized that sabotage may have caused the damage. According to the Danish daily Politiken, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen commented, "It is difficult to assume that it is unintentional." "Sabotage cannot be ruled out, but it is too early to draw any conclusions,"
At a ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new Baltic Pipe, which will transport natural gas from Norway through Denmark to Poland and its neighbors, Frederiksen spoke on Tuesday in Goleniow, Poland. The new pipeline stands out among European efforts to locate substitute energy supplies for Russia, which was once Europe's primary energy supplier.
The primary and most apparent suspect behind the disclosures, according to top European defense and environmental officials, was Russia. Russian authorities wanted to warn Europeans about the dangers of using the new Baltic pipeline to transport gas. Additionally, they own a strong submersible program.
The environmental official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal thinking on the leak, said: "No one on the European side of the ocean is believing this is anything other than Russian sabotage."
European officials issued a warning, however, saying that they did not yet have any evidence connecting the disclosures to the Russian government.
Nord Stream 1, which was formerly a crucial pipeline for the transportation of Russian natural gas to Germany, Poland, and other European countries, contains two of the damaged pipelines. Earlier this year, Russia reduced and finally halted the supplies through Nord Stream 1. The Kremlin cited technological issues. Leaders in Europe, such as Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, have accused the Kremlin of exploiting fossil fuels to "blackmail" nations who support Ukraine.
The third leak is a result of the more recent Nord Stream 2, whose full functioning was halted by Western nations as Russia began its invasion.
Volodymyr Zelensky's advisor claimed that Russia was probably to blame for the recent disclosures.
The adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted, "'Gas leak' from NS-1 is nothing more than a terrorist assault prepared by Russia and an act of hostility towards EU.
The disclosures may have been the product of an "attack or some type of sabotage," according to unconfirmed sources, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.
He told reporters at the State Department that it was "obviously in no one's interest" if it were to be verified. In order to solve energy security for Europe and the rest of the globe, he added, "it is vital that we work day in and day out, both on a short-term and a long-term basis."
According to Blinken, American plans include boosting the export of liquefied natural gas to Europe, raising domestic oil output, and using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He argued that the leaks wouldn't significantly affect Europe's "energy resilience," regardless of their root source.
Although gas supplies were not in danger, a spokeswoman for the European Commission stated that officials were worried about potential environmental harm from the leaks.
The security of supply hasn't yet been impacted, according to the spokesperson, Tim McPhie. "Deliveries on Nord Stream 1 have been nil, and Nord Stream 2 has not yet received operating authorization. We are in communication with the member states regarding the possible impact on sea navigation as well as studying the potential implications of these methane leaks, a gas that naturally has significant effects on climate change.
The possibility that the leaks were unintentional is "terribly doubtful," according to Henning Gloystein, an energy expert with the Eurasia Group, given that cracks happened in at least three locations in one area. He said that because of worries that this was the start of an asymmetrical attack, the majority of European nations had raised the alert level for their energy infrastructure.
In addition, he added, the flammable gas leak is hazardous to both humans and the environment.
Gloystein emphasized that a large gas leak is mostly methane, which is instantly harmful to the water and would climb into the sky.
The Nord Stream operator said in its statement that "it is hard to anticipate" when the pipes will be repaired.
Two leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in the Swedish and Danish seas were reported earlier on Tuesday by the Swedish Maritime Authority. The alert was issued not long after Danish waterways were found to have leakage from the neighboring Nord Stream 2 conduit.
Authorities from Denmark and Sweden said they were looking into the leaks and established a ship-free zone with a five-mile radius around the Danish island of Bornholm.
The damage has the Russian government "very worried," according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, on Tuesday.
"This information is quite disturbing. The pipe in the Danish economic zone has minor damage. What sort is still unclear, he said to reporters during his daily conference call. "The pressure has significantly decreased. It is vital to address this problem since it is unprecedented.
In response to a story by the German daily Tagesspiegel alleging potential sabotage, Peskov added that Russia is "not discounting any alternatives."
Eric Mamer, the head of the European Commission's press office, stated that the origin of the leaks is yet unknown. According to Mamer, "We think we lack the ingredients to ascertain the cause of the leak." Obviously, we would condemn any act of sabotage against any facility.
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