by Yannis Ioannou
Suspicious leaks in the two Russian gas pipelines (Nord Stream 1 & 2) in the Baltic Sea are likely the result of sabotage, officials in Denmark, Germany and Poland have warned, heightening concerns about Europe's "long, hard, winter" with regard to Russian gas - due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
And while all scenarios cannot be ruled out as to how explosions - recorded by the Swedish seismological center - led to a gas leak in the region, many are pointing fingers at Russia (with the Kremlin itself through Peskov not ruling out malicious intent either, blaming Ukraine and the West as those responsible for the leak).
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Zelensky, tweeted, "The 'gas leak' from NS-1 is nothing more than a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards the EU. Russia wants to destabilize the economic situation in Europe. Especially Germany".
What we know
- The leak resulted from explosions that were recorded by the Swedes. However, the pipelines were out of service during these days
- The leak on Nord Stream 2 is very close to the new Baltic pipeline that will take Norwegian gas to Poland for the first time. On Tuesday, moreover, the pipeline was inaugurated at a ceremony in Poland, attended by Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland. Therefore a strong Russian signal here cannot be ignored in relation to Europe's diversification from Russian gas, and
- The aspect of sabotage of the Russian-European energy connections directly affects the decision-making of countries in relation to the war in Ukraine. Given that NS1 will not be operational by the end of the year.
The investigation of the incident in question touches again on the Russia-West energy war, possibly triggering developments if Russian involvement is proven, and in any case, the methane leakage into the sea also creates ecological complications in the Baltic Sea environment.
[This article was translated from its Greek original]
