[ストックホルム／コペンハーゲン ２７日 ロイター] – Germany, Denmark and Sweden said on the 27th that gas leaks found in the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 undersea pipelines that send natural gas from Russia to Europe may have been destroyed. However, there are many unclear points, and Europe is rushing to investigate the cause.
German Economy Minister Habeck said he was certain the leak was caused by a targeted attack on a gas pipe and not by natural phenomena or wear and tear.
Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen and Swedish Prime Minister Andersson said it was a deliberate act, possibly sabotage. Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki has declared sabotage without providing any evidence.
Russia has cut gas exports via Nord Stream in response to Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Both pipelines are currently out of service, but hopes of Nord Stream 1 resuming gas supply to Europe before winter will be dashed.
Russia also said it believed sabotage was possible, saying the leak had compromised Europe’s energy security.
A senior Ukrainian government official said the attack was a Russian attack aimed at destabilizing Europe, but gave no evidence.
“It is clear to us that this is sabotage and it concerns the next steps in de-escalating the situation in Ukraine,” Morawiecki said at an event marking the opening of the new Polish-Norwegian pipeline.
Prime Minister Andersson said two shocks were observed in connection with the gas leak, and although it was not an attack on Sweden, he was in close contact with neighboring countries such as NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), Denmark and Germany. Stated.
Danish and Swedish seismologists said they detected two loud explosions near the site of the gas leak on Monday.
The Danish and Greenland Geological Survey (GEUS) said it detected activity that was different from an earthquake and similar to the activity usually recorded in an explosion.
Sweden’s Uppsala University National Seismology Center (SNSN) said the second large explosion was “equivalent to more than 100 kilograms of dynamite” and that the explosion occurred underwater rather than under the seafloor.
The Danish military said that at the location of the largest leak, bubbles more than a kilometer in diameter formed on the surface of the sea.
According to the Swedish Maritime Authority (SMA), one Nord Stream 1 leak was found in the Swedish economic zone and one in the Danish economic zone, both located northeast of the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. He said he was watching to make sure no ships approached the site.
The operator, Nord Stream, said the pipeline suffered “unprecedented” damage.
Betsau, head of the Danish Energy Agency, said the hole in the pipeline was so large that it would probably take a week for gas to stop leaking from Nord Stream 2. “The sea surface is saturated with methane, increasing the risk of explosions in this area,” he warned.