News Release

Explosions Cause Major Damage to Both Nord Stream Pipelines

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On Jan. 27 of this year, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland stated: “If Russia invades Ukraine,

one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.” See video. (In January 2021, IPA published the news release: “Biden Nominating Victoria ‘F*ck the EU’ Nuland.”)

On Feb. 22, Biden said: “And because of Russia’s actions, we’ve worked with Germany to ensure Nord Stream 2 will not — as I promised — will not move forward.”

DAVE DeCAMP, davedecamp@protonmail.com, @DecampDave
DeCamp is news editor for Antiwar.com and host of “Antiwar News With Dave DeCamp.” He just wrote the piece “Explosions Cause Major Damage to Both Nord Stream Pipelines,” which states: “European officials on Tues
day said massive leaks in the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines that were caused by explosions were likely the result of sabotage, raising questions on who the culprit might be.

“The Nord Stream pipelines connect Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea. Russia recently stopped shipping gas through Nord Stream 1 indefinitely, and the construction of Nord Stream 2 has been completed, but the pipeline has never been fully operational as Berlin suspended the project after Russia invaded Ukraine.

“Two leaks were discovered in Nord Stream 1, and one leak was discovered in Nord Stream 2 after the operator reported a sudden drop in pressure overnight Monday. While neither pipeline has been delivering to Europe, both contain gas under pressure.

“Two underwater explosions were recorded earlier on Monday near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, which is where the leaks occurred. Nord Stream AG, the operator of the pipelines, said it was not possible to estimate when the damage could be fixed.

“EU, Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish officials all said the damage was likely caused by a deliberate attack. Over in Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that sabotage could not be ruled out.

“Radek Sikorski, a former Polish foreign minister and current Member of European Parliament, suggested on Twitter that Washington was behind the attack. He posted a picture on Twitter of the disturbance in the water caused by the leaks and wrote, ‘Thank you, USA.’

“In another tweet, Sikorski, who is married to American journalist Anne Applebaum, described his view that the U.S. was responsible as a ‘hypothesis.’ He also celebrated the attack, saying that ‘$20 billion of scrap metal lies at the bottom of the sea, another cost to Russia of its criminal decision to invade Ukraine.'” The New York TimesWashington Post and Guardian all ran stories indicating Russia was responsible, all of which ignored Sikorski’s comments.

DeCamp continued: “According to a report from Germany’s Der Spiegel, the U.S. had foreknowledge of a possible attack on the pipelines. Citing unnamed sources, Spiegel reported that the German government received a tip over the summer from the CIA that Nord Stream could be attacked, and Berlin assumed both pipelines could be targeted.

“The Nord Stream pipeline has long been in the crosshairs of Washington and the U.S. had tried to stop its construction by imposing sanctions. Before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, President Biden [on Feb. 7] said the U.S. would ‘bring an end’ to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.”

Pres. Biden: “If Russia invades…then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.”

Reporter: “But how will you do that, exactly, since…the project is in Germany’s control?”
Biden: “I promise you, we will be able to do it.” See video.

DeCamp also noted: “Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday commented on the attacks on the pipelines, saying the damage was in nobody’s interest. ‘There are initial reports indicating that this may be the result of an attack or some kind of sabotage, but these are initial reports and we haven’t confirmed that yet,’ he said. ‘But if it is confirmed, that’s clearly in no one’s interest.’

“Ukraine accused Russia of being behind the incident, but Moscow has little reason to attack the pipelines. Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that if Europe wanted gas, it could open Nord Stream 2. ‘The bottom line is, if you have an urge, if it’s so hard for you, just lift the sanctions on Nord Stream 2, which is 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year, just push the button and everything will get going,’ he said.

“The attacks on Nord Stream coincided with the inauguration of the Baltic Pipe, another natural gas pipeline that will carry gas from Norway through Denmark to Poland. ‘The era of Russian domination of gas is coming to an end, an era marked by blackmail, threats and coercion,’ Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a ceremony for the pipeline, which the EU says should start transporting gas on Oct. 1.”

For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, David Zupan

September 28, 2022