European leaders call Nord Stream pipelines' gas leak near Denmark 'sabotage'

Following seismologists' reports of explosions near the Nord Stream pipelines, European leaders have stated that sabotage is the most likely the reason for leaks in two Baltic Sea gas pipelines between Russia and Europe. These comments came after a leak was detected in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea near Denmark and then a few hours later the Nord Stream 1 pipeline connecting Russia to Europe reported a reduction in pressure.  

On Monday, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines saw major drops in pressure, and on the same day a seismograph on the Danish Island of Bornholm, close to the leaks' location, twice detected spikes, according to the German geological research centre GFZ. Further, a Danish military aircraft flew above the leaks and took startling pictures of the ruptures, one of which showed a kilometre-wide area of bubbling gas on the surface of the ocean, The Guardian reported.  

Remarks of European leaders over the gas leaks

Ursula Von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, asserted that the leaks were the result of "sabotage" and that any purposeful interruption of the energy infrastructure of Europe would be met with the "strongest possible response." According to The Guardian, the European Commission President said, “Any deliberate disruption of active European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest possible response”. She also demanded a probe to obtain complete information on the "events and why".  

Besides this, the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen described the leaks as “deliberate acts”, and further noted, “We are not talking about an accident.” Mateusz Morawiecki, the Prime Minister of Poland, referred to the leaks as a sabotage act that probably indicates the next stage of aggravation of the situation in Ukraine. 

Although Ann Linde, Sweden's foreign minister, claimed they would not "speculate on motives or actors," departing Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson acknowledged that "there have been detonations." 

Just after midnight, around 2 am (local time), the seismograph showed almost complete silence. Then, there was a spike that represented an earthquake, followed by a continuous hissing wave pattern. At 5:00 pm GMT, the pattern was repeated. 

In the midst of the allegations of sabotage, suspicion quickly focused on the perpetrators, with fingers pointing to Russia whose pipelines had been damaged, raising the possibility that energy supplies to Europe were being further weaponised amid the crisis in Ukraine. It was also seen to be a possible warning concerning the vulnerability of other naval gas infrastructure, The Guardian reported.  

 While experts at the research centre ruled out the notion that the leaks may have been triggered by earthquakes, GFZ declined to comment on whether the recorded vibrations could have been the consequence of an explosion. 

As per media reports, the operator of Nord Stream 2 stated that the pipeline's pressure dropped from 105 to 7 bars overnight. 

(Image: AP)