One of the worst possible scenarios for Europe and, by extension, for the United States and American consumers materialized.
This comes after a vast Russian undersea pipeline bringing natural gas to Germany seems to have been blown up. Reports reveal the CIA warned months ago such a sabotage attack was imminent in order to damage the energy security of the entire West.
Putin’s Well-Known Energy Supplies Weapon
Two underwater explosions have rocked the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipes, bringing Russian natural gas directly to Germany via the Baltic Sea.
The blasts caused the pipes to be compromised, leading to the giant mass of gas bubbles rising to the sea surface, a development captured on video by several sources, including the militaries and governments of Germany, Denmark, and Sweden.
While President Joe “Empty Shelves” Biden lifted the sanctions in a major concession to Putin in the spring of 2021, the Russians couldn’t get it running for a number of reasons.
After they invaded Ukraine in February of this year, starting the usage of the second pipe has been out of the question.
At the same time, however, Putin has been tampering with the supplies through Nord Stream 1 ever since he began the Ukraine invasion. This is in order to use Germany’s energy dependence on Russian resources and force political concessions from the West.
The Russian dictator has been unabashed to use Russia’s exports of oil and natural gas as a vicious geopolitical instrument to try to dominate countries in Eastern and Central Europe and disrupt global energy markets.
The latter is particularly visible as the sky-high gas prices in the United States have been partly, if not heavily, influenced by the market and supply turmoil caused by Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Videos from Swedish and Danish authorities show gas bubbling to the Baltic Sea's surface after reports of leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines. Seismologists recorded explosions in the area, and Swedish authorities to called the leaks "a matter of sabotage." pic.twitter.com/AlxCFiYP7D
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) September 28, 2022
Footage released by the Swedish Coast Guard showed disturbances in the Baltic Sea from unexplained leaks on the Nord Stream natural-gas pipelines. Traders braced for further gas-supply disruption, as European authorities investigated. #WSJWhatsNow https://t.co/R48e641JF1 pic.twitter.com/48rhH903pi
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) September 28, 2022
The two explosions of Nord Stream 1 & 2 took place just outside of Danish & Swedish territorial waters, that is, on international waters. They were professionally pursued with huge detonations. Talking to experts here in Stockholm, I receive only one answer: Russia.
— Anders Åslund (@anders_aslund) September 28, 2022
It Could Only Be ‘Russian Sabotage’
Videos posted online on Tuesday by the Swedish Coast Guard have shown the aftermath of the two Nord Stream pipeline explosions, which occurred in Danish waters, northeast of the island of Bornholm.
Ukraine’s government reacted quickly to the incident, claiming the sabotage has been carried out by Russia in order to stop the Russian natural gas supplies to the Europeans.
Top officials of the European Union have reacted strongly, saying the blasts have been caused by a deliberate attack, The Daily Mail reported. They vowed to punish whoever could be responsible, without naming Putin’s Russia as a possible suspect.
The Russian government denied Ukraine’s accusations of orchestrating the incident; although it did not rule out possible sabotage.
Reports by the New York Times and Washington Post revealed the CIA warned America’s European allies several weeks ago that the Nord Stream pipeline could be blown up.
However, the German government sources cited on the matter by Der Spiegel refused to reveal whether the CIA had pinpointed Russia as the potential perpetrator.
BREAKING: The Kremlin has said Russia is "not interested" in stopping the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
The country has been accused of 'sabotaging' two pipelines.
More here: https://t.co/0oMzuSmm2r
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/4iVLOQ7RUK
— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 28, 2022
Damage to Nord Stream 1 & 2 are not a coincidence and affect us all.
All available information indicates leaks are the result of a deliberate act.
Deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure is utterly unacceptable and will be met with a robust and united response. https://t.co/p32qR8TzOb
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) September 28, 2022
This article appeared in BeyondNews and has been published here with permission.These are the indicative estimates of Russia’s combat losses as of Sept. 28, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/zxB14Gqn10
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) September 28, 2022