No information is available on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline; both are at the center of geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West
Handout / Airbus DS 2022 / AFP
the pipeline north current 2 no longer records any leakage into the Baltic Sea, said spokesman Ulrich Lissek. “The pressure of the water has more or less closed the pipeline, so the gas inside cannot come out,” he said on Saturday 1. Lissek said it was not possible to estimate the amount of gas in the pipeline. “That’s the milliondollar question,” he said. Information on the much larger leak in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline is not yet available. The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which are connected to each other Russia with Germany, have been at the center of geopolitical tensions since Moscow halted gas supplies to Europe in alleged retaliation for sanctions imposed by Western powers following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Although the pipelines are not currently operational, both contained gas before an apparent act of sabotage caused four leaks. A report released on Friday by Denmark and Sweden concluded the leaks were caused by underwater explosions equivalent to hundreds of kilograms of explosives.
It is not known what caused the leak, but Russia and Ukraine are exchanging allegations. Moscow said it was ruling out “no possibility,” including sabotage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said it was “hard to imagine that it was an accident,” adding that an act of sabotage could not be ruled out. Ukraine blames the leaks as a “terrorist attack” planned by Moscow against the European Union. “The largescale gas leak at Nord Stream 1 is nothing more than a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression against the EU,” Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mikhail Podoliak said on Twitter. Podoliak accused Russia of trying to “destabilize the economic situation in Europe and incite panic before winter.”
*With information from AFP