Sweden, Europe Brief News – Sweden has declared a state of alert after reporting two gas leaks on Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
The leak occurred although the Kremlin shut down the pipeline earlier this month for an indefinite period of time in retaliation for Western sanctions.
“There are two leaks on Nord Stream 1 – one in the Swedish economic zone and one in the Danish zone. They are very close to each other,” a spokesman for the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) told Reuters.
The warnings came shortly after a separate gas leak was detected on a second pipeline, Nord Stream 2, a highly controversial project that was frozen by the German government days prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and never became operational.
Speaking in Poland, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said sabotage could occur as an explanation for the events.
“It is too early to conclude yet, but it is an extraordinary situation,” she said. “There are three leaks, and therefore it is difficult to imagine that it could be accidental.”
On Monday, Danish authorities asked ships to move away from a radius of five nautical miles southeast of Bornholm. This came after gas leaked into the Baltic Sea from the malfunctioning Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Yesterday, the operator of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline reported a drop in pressure in both lines of the Nord Stream gas pipeline 1.
The European Commission said it was still premature to speculate.
