Nord Stream says damage to gas pipeline to Germany unprecedented
BNN Bloomberg
Germany suspects the Nord Stream gas pipeline system was damaged by an act of sabotage, in what would amount to a major escalation in the standoff between Russia and Europe.
According to a German security official, the evidence points to a violent act rather than a technical issue. Swedish seismologists detected two explosions in the area on Monday, when leaks appeared almost simultaneously in the Baltic Sea.
It’s the clearest signal yet that Europe will have to survive this winter without any significant Russian gas flows, and potentially marks a major escalation in the broader conflict between Moscow and Ukraine’s allies.
The pipelines were already out of action, but any hope that the Kremlin might have turned the taps back on at some point have now been dashed. Gas prices jumped, and Denmark moved to bolster security around its energy assets.
