On September 26th, 2022, the Nord Stream gas pipelines suffered from serious gas leaks that occurred as the result of explosions. The pipelines run from Russia to Germany and the explosions occurred off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm. Due to the timing of the explosion, many political leaders, such as the Danish and Swedish prime ministers, as well as officials from the European Union, believe it to be sabotage. However, it is unclear who could have done it. Most of the West is hesitant to name anyone and Russia refuses to cooperate with investigations unless its own agents are involved.
The reason why the pipeline explosions are suspected to be sabotage is because of the size of the explosions. Photos from the German Federal Police show that the leak was about 26 feet long, which could only be caused by explosions or other man-made means.
The explosions of the pipes have had both economic and environmental consequences. The leaks caused gas prices in Europe to increase, which some gas companies have allegedly been taking advantage of in order to profit. In addition, the amount of methane released in the air is the largest that has ever been released at one time and is equivalent to emissions from a few days of fossil fuel production. Other than these details, there is not much available information on the pipeline explosions, and there probably won’t be for a while.
Photo by FactsWithoutBias1, licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0
The Roar 