Undersea ‘blasts’ recorded at same time Russia-Germany gas pipelines damaged
Mysterious leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipe network began with “powerful subsea blasts” and resulted from “deliberate actions”.
Two pipelines running underwater from Russia to Germany were damaged in a total of three places on Monday.
Nord Stream AG, the owner, described the breakages as “unprecedented”. The pipes were not pumping gas to Europe at the time the leaks were found amid the dispute over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, said it was an “act of sabotage”, while his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen said she views the leaks as “deliberate actions”, and the Danish energy authority said any event like this was “extremely rare”.
Dramatic gas bubbles rising to the sea’s surface measure 100m in diameter and will continue for several days, the authority said.
The two pipes were damaged near the Danish island of Bornholm in the southern Baltic Sea.
The Kremlin said it could not rule out sabotage as a cause of the damage, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov describing developments as “very concerning news”.
A European security source said: “There are some indications that it is deliberate damage. You have to ask: Who would profit?”
A reading from a nearby seismograph, which records vibrations on the planet’s surface, was found to show spikes at similar times to when the losses in pressure in the pipes were first recorded, according to a German geology research centre.
Read more:
How Nord Stream 2 has been controversial from the start
The gas leak from a Danish F-16 interceptor near Bornholm island. Photo: Danish Defence
‘No doubt these were explosions’
Sweden’s national seismology centre said its stations recorded “powerful subsea blasts” in the area where the gas leaks occurred, the latter measuring the equivalent of a magnitude-2.3 earthquake.
Bjorn Lund, a seismologist with Uppsala University who is part of Sweden’s national seismic network, told the national broadcaster SVT: “There is no doubt that these were explosions.”
He said the first was recorded in the early hours of Monday southeast of Bornholm. The latter and stronger blast on Monday evening was northeast of the island and equivalent to 100kg of dynamite.
“We know very well what an underwater blast looks like. And so in this case, there’s no doubt this is not an earthquake,” Mr Lund said.
Earlier, the country’s Maritime Authority had issued a warning about two leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, northeast of Bornholm, which until the Ukraine war provided about 60% of Germany’s gas needs.
On Monday, Denmark issued a warning about a leak in the yet-to-be-opened Nord Stream 2 pipeline, south of Dueodde, which had been built to boost the amount of Russian gas supplied to Germany.
Workers at the construction site of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline
Were the leaks caused by Russian sabotage?
On Tuesday, a ceremony was held to inaugurate a new pipeline, Baltic Pipe, to carry Norwegian gas through Denmark to Poland, which it is hoped will ease some pressure on European gas supplies.
Simone Tagliapietra, an energy expert with the Bruegel think-tank in Brussels, said the leaks “can’t be a coincidence” and speculated they could have been caused by Russian sabotage or anti-Russian sabotage.
One possibility is Russia signalling it “is breaking forever with Western Europe and Germany” as Poland inaugurates its pipeline with Norway, he said.
Satellites captured an image of the pipeline rupture. Pic: Planet Labs PBC
‘Unprecedented destruction’
The leak from Nord Stream 2, discovered by the Danish Defence F-16 interceptor response unit, prompted the setting up of a five nautical mile exclusion zone, to protect shipping from any danger.
The Danes have now marked off the leak from Nord Stream 1.
Nord Stream AG said it was impossible to estimate when the gas network system would be working again.
“The destruction that occurred on the same day simultaneously on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system is unprecedented,” it said.
“It is not yet possible to estimate the timing of the restoration of the gas transport infrastructure.”
Nord Stream 1’s twin undersea pipelines opened in 2011, with the ability to supply up to 27.5 billion cubic metres of gas a year each.
But since fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the EU’s determination to cut its reliance on Russian gas, flows through the Nord Stream 1 have reduced to zero.
Russia has been accused of using gas supply as a weapon, something Russia blames on Western sanctions. The German government has withheld the licence of Nord Stream 2 because of Russia’s actions.
Despite not carrying gas to Germany and beyond, both pipelines have apparently remained full of gas, which is now leaking into the sea.
It was not immediately clear what consequences would follow, especially as methane in the atmosphere is a driver of climate change. The EU Commission said it would analyse the potential impact.
German environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe said any effects from an explosion would be local and that some gas would dissolve in the sea.
The cut in supplies of Russian gas to Europe is one of the main drivers of higher gas prices that have caused inflation to surge in the UK and elsewhere.
A Russian Su-35 fighter jet was scrambled to intercept two US strategic bombers over the Baltic Sea, Russia’s defence ministry has said.
“Two air targets flying in the direction of the state border of the Russian Federation” were detected by radar on Monday, it said in a statement on the social media platform Telegram.
The aircraft were identified as two US Air Force B-52 strategic bombers “flying in the direction of the Russian Federation’s state border”.
A Su-35 fighter jet took to the air to prevent a border violation, the ministry continued.
“After the foreign military aircraft moved away from the Russian Federation state border, the Russian fighter returned to its base airfield,” it added.
The National Defense Center of the Russian Federation said: “The flight of the Russian fighter was carried out in strict accordance with the international rules for the use of airspace.
“Violations of the state border of the Russian Federation are not allowed.”
The US has not yet responded to the claim.
It comes after the crash of a US military surveillance drone into the Black Sea on 14 March after it was intercepted by Russian jets.
The US Air Force released a video it said showed a Russian jet intercepting the drone and dumping fuel on it over the Black Sea.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Russian jet vs US drone – what happened?
Read more:
I was a fighter pilot – this is how the US drone crash happened
It said two Russian Su-27 jets flew close to the MQ-9 Reaper before one hit its propeller and forced remote operators to crash it into the ocean.
The incident highlighted the increasing risk of direct confrontation between the superpowers as fighting continues in nearby Ukraine.
American officials accused the Russian pilots of flying in a “reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner”.
Moscow denied the jets behaved dangerously and said they didn’t come into contact with the drone, claiming it crashed due to “sharp manoeuvring”.
World
Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash court case starts in US after man accused her of seriously injuring him in ‘hit-and-run’
Donald Trump has claimed he is set to be arrested over an alleged hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
If right in his assertion, the former US president could be charged by authorities in New York within days.
But what will happen if he is indicted – and how will both sides present their case?
What Trump has said
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Mr Trump said he expected to be arrested on Tuesday and urged his supporters to protest against the authorities if he is detained and indicted.
He published a long statement describing the investigation as a “political witch-hunt trying to take down the leading candidate, by far, in the Republican Party”.
“I did absolutely nothing wrong,” he said, before criticising a “corrupt, depraved and weaponised justice system”.
However, it’s worth noting a spokesperson for Mr Trump said he had not been notified of any pending arrest.
The case – that the Republican made a payment to Ms Daniels towards the end of the 2016 presidential campaign in exchange for her silence over an alleged affair – is one of several related to Mr Trump.
Other ongoing cases include a Georgia election interference probe and two federal investigations into his role in the 6 January insurrection in the US Capitol.
Read more:
What has happened with Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram pages?
Mike Pence won’t commit to supporting Trump in 2024
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump watches wrestling after arrest claim
What Trump will do
Mr Trump has accused Manhattan’s district attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, of targeting him for political gain, and may try to argue for the dismissal of the charges on those grounds.
He could also challenge whether the statute of limitations – five years in this instance – should have run out.
But in New York, the statute of limitations can be extended if the defendant has been out of state – Trump may argue that serving as US president should not apply.
Politically, how any possible indictment may affect Mr Trump’s chances in the 2024 presidential election is unclear.
Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts
He could be the first former US president to face criminal prosecution – right as polls show him leading other potential rivals for the Republican nomination, including controversial Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
This could lead to the unprecedented situation in which Mr Trump would stand trial as he campaigns in 2024.
If elected, he would not have the power to pardon himself of criminal charges.
In any case, Mr Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina told CNBC on Friday that he would surrender if charged. If he refused to come voluntarily, prosecutors could seek to have him extradited from Florida, where he currently lives.
In an ironic twist, as governor, Mr DeSantis would typically have to give formal approval for an extradition.
Read more:
Trump arrest ‘would be politically motivated’
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump pleads the fifth in 2022 deposition video
What prosecutors will do
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has spent nearly five years investigating Mr Trump.
It has presented evidence to a New York grand jury that relates to a £114,000 ($130,000) payment to Ms Daniels during the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign.
It is alleged the payment was given in exchange for Ms Daniels’ silence about an affair between her and Mr Trump.
Mr Trump has denied the affair and accused Ms Daniels of extortion.
Any indictment by the district attorney’s office would require Mr Trump to travel to its New York office to surrender.
But Mr Trump’s lawyers will likely arrange a date and time with authorities, as it is a white-collar case. And then his mugshot and fingerprints would be taken before appearing for arraignment in court.
Mr Trump could also be charged with falsifying business records – typically classed as a misdemeanour – after he reimbursed his former attorney Michael Cohen for the payments, falsely recorded as legal services.
To elevate it to a felony, prosecutors would have to show Mr Trump falsified records to cover up a second crime.
In any case, legal experts have estimated that any trial of the former US president would be more than a year away.
That’s why if it happened, it could coincide with the final months of a 2024 election in which Mr Trump seeks a controversial return to the White House.
-
Technology2 years ago
Game consoles were once banned in China. Now Chinese developers want a slice of the $49 billion pie
-
Politics1 year ago
Have the last few wobbly weeks seen a turning point for Johnson as PM?
-
Sports5 months ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Politics1 year ago
Yvette Cooper promoted and Lisa Nandy to shadow Gove on levelling up brief in Labour reshuffle
-
Business6 months agoLiz Truss’s ‘favourite’ economist says chancellor ‘took his eye off ball’ and ‘overstepped the mark’ with mini-budget
-
Politics1 year ago
Govt minister says she ‘doesn’t believe’ Stanley Johnson inappropriately touched MP
-
Videos6 months ago
World leaders come together for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral