The sabotage hypothesis takes shape. A underwater stretch nearly 250 meters long of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline is “destroyed”, according to the first elements of the inspections carried out by the operating company of the gas pipelinefollowing the explosions that occurred on September 26th.
“Craters (…) have been discovered on the seabed, at a distance of regarding 248 meters from each other,” Nord Stream, majority-owned by the Russian group Gazprom, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Moscow accused London
On September 26, four large leaks had been detected on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, two in Sweden and two in Denmark. The Swedish prosecutor’s office, which opened an investigation a few days following the incident, favors the thesis of sabotage. The German and Danish judicial authorities are also taking part in the investigations.
Since the conflict in Ukraine, the two pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany, have been at the heart of geopolitical tensions, stoked following Moscow’s decision to cut off gas supplies to Europe in alleged retaliation once morest Western sanctions.
The origin of the explosions remains a mystery, however, with Moscow and Washington denying any responsibility. The Kremlin accused London on Monday, saying the sabotage was “directed and coordinated”.
