This should surprise nobody: President Biden said in early February that in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, “there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2, we will bring an end to it.” It’s well within the realm of possibility that such an attack would’ve been carried out with the tacit approval (or even upon the request) of the Scholz government, to relieve them of political pressure to open Nord Stream 2 or seek terms for a restoration of supply to Nord Stream 1 as the economy continues to circle the drain. The Greens are in government here, and Green-adjacent journalists have gone so far as to demand the dismantling of the pipelines to hurt Putin, so this too is far from crazy.
The second scenario investigators are contemplating, according to the linked Tagesspiegel report, is of course a “‘false flag’ operation by Russia,” carried out to “drive up the price of gas,” “exacerbate the European energy crisis” and “fuel additional uncertainty.” Russia will surely be blamed for the attack as soon as it is confirmed, I have no doubt of that.
The pipeline attacks come as a few prominent German politicians have demanded the opening of Nord Stream 2, and the subject has attracted a growing protest movement. Neither pipeline was currently transporting gas; Gazprom cut off supply to Nord Stream 1 at the end of August, citing maintenance issues exacerbated by EU sanctions, while the Scholz government refused to certify Nord Stream 2 following its completion in November 2021.
UPDATES: Gonzalo Lira argues that the Americans have declared war on Europe; Noah Carl draws attention to an older piece he wrote on the “Nord Stream 2 theory” of the Ukraine war; hints of a possible method and an earlier, aborted attack on the pipeline are found in these stories about an underwater drone armed with explosives recovered near the pipeline construction site in 2015. Two Nord Stream 1 leaks have now been identified; like the Nord Stream 2 rupture, they’re near Bornholm. There are three ruptures in total.
MOAR UPDATES: Danish armed forces have published a brief statement on the gas leaks, together with some photos.
Gaslækagen ved Nord Stream 2 set fra Forsvarets F-16 afvisningsberedskab på Bornholm. Foto: Forsvaret
That circle of bubbling methane is apparently a kilometre in width. Nord Stream 1 was attacked in two places northeast of Bornholm, while one of the Nord Stream 2 pipes was breached off the southern tip of the island. This report from FAZ suggests the attacks happened at a depth of about 70 metres.