The Office of the Prosecutor General of Russia has opened an international terrorism case. Moscow justified the move by saying that the damage to the pipelines “inflicted considerable economic damage on Russia”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called on Russia to get involved in clearing up the incidents. The UN session is scheduled for Thursday, the deputy head of the Russian UN mission in New York, Dmitri Polyanski, said on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also stated that Russia wanted to request a Security Council meeting regarding the “provocations” surrounding the Baltic Sea pipelines.
Meanwhile, in the West, conviction was growing that the leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were the result of an act of sabotage. Everything points to an intentional act, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday on behalf of the 27 member states. At the same time, the EU threatened those responsible with sanctions. NATO also spoke of sabotage. However, Western politicians have refrained from assigning blame. Russia has denied any responsibility.
On Monday night, a sharp drop in pressure was initially detected in one of two unused Nord Stream 2 pipeline pipes. Later, the Nord Stream 1 operator also reported a pressure drop in these two tubes. Danish authorities eventually discovered a total of three leaks in the two pipelines.
EU chief diplomat Borrell stressed that they were very concerned about the damage. “These incidents are no coincidence and concern us all,” said the Spaniard. “All available information indicates that these leaks are the result of a deliberate act.” Any investigation intended to provide clarity will be supported. At the same time, he made it clear that any intentional disruption of European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and “will be responded to with a robust and joint response”. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, made a similar statement.
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter that a conversation with Danish Defense Minister Morten Bødskov was about “sabotage” of the pipelines. They also talked about protecting critical infrastructure in NATO countries. Borrell also said steps would be taken to make energy security more robust. Bødskov himself emphasized that it was not about his country’s critical infrastructure.
Ukraine already blamed Russia for the leaks on Tuesday. This should exacerbate the energy crisis in Europe and trigger panic before winter.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed any blame on Wednesday. “It is quite predictable and predictably stupid and absurd to make such assumptions,” he said, according to Interfax. The damage is also a big problem for Russia. Both Nord Stream 2 wires are gas-filled. “This gas costs a lot of money and is now escaping into the air.”
Before any statement could be made, investigations would have to wait to analyze the leaks and determine whether or not there was an explosion, Peskow said. He also called on Russia to get involved in the investigation of the incidents. Peskow himself did not rule out sabotage on Tuesday.
The US government, for its part, dismissed as “ridiculous” suggestions from Russia that it may be behind the Nord Stream pipeline leaks. “We all know that Russia has a long history of spreading disinformation, and it’s doing it again here,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said on Wednesday. Earlier, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry had suggested that US President Joe Biden might have ordered the sabotage of the pipelines.
However, an investigation into the leaks can take a long time. With so much gas in the pipelines, it could take a week or two for the area to calm down enough to investigate leaks about 80 meters below the surface, Danish minister Bødskov said in Brussels.
According to the Danish Energy Authority, more than half of the gas has already escaped from the affected lines. The lines must therefore be empty on Sunday, as the chief of authorities, Kristoffer Böttzauw, told a news conference on Wednesday. According to the authority’s calculations, the climate impact of the gas leak corresponds to about a third of Denmark’s total climate impact in a year. A real risk to the health of the population – especially on the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea – does not exist, he said.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline operator did not rule out repairing the damaged double strand. There are expertise and vendors for this work, said a spokesperson for Nord Stream AG. Before a course of action can be determined, however, the damage must be assessed. So far there are no photos of the actual leaks. They want to inspect the damage as soon as possible, but that assumes the authorities have lifted the restricted zones that have been imposed.
According to Nord Stream 2 AG, the exact damage to its largely parallel pipeline is still unknown. “No one can seriously say at the moment what it’s like down there” and what technical possibilities exist now, a spokesperson said.
According to Bødskov, the leaks are in international waters in the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden. Both countries established safe zones for boarding after discovery. Ships are not allowed to pass through the area around the spills within a radius of five nautical miles (almost 9.3 kilometers).
According to Greenpeace, the gas in leaking pipelines could have the same climate-destroying potential as 30 million tons of carbon dioxide. This corresponds to the annual emissions of 20 million cars in the EU, the environmental organization tweeted.