The fact that the seismographs on the nearby island of Bornholm have measured explosions completes the picture: here are practices that would not look out of place in a suspense film. James Bond in the Baltic Sea.
The answer to the question who is behind this spectacular sabotage turns out to be a lot less clear. At the same time, it is of course the question on everyone’s mind. Whole and half experts therefore hesitantly venture to mainly three theories. Theories with quite a few points of reference, but where comments can certainly be made.
For example, there is often a video of US President Joe Biden. He said at the beginning of this year that there would be “no more Nord Stream 2” if Russia would invade Ukraine with tanks or troops. “We will put an end to that then,” Biden said of the pipeline. When asked how, he replied firmly, “I guarantee we’ll be able to do that.”
America has always been an opponent of the Nord Stream pipelines, because they would make Europe’s energy dependence on Russia too great. A position that is consistent with today’s knowledge. The point is, Biden’s promise on Nord Stream 2 has long since been fulfilled. The pipeline was supposed to be commissioned this year, but the German government canceled it after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The United States? No, look at Ukraine, say other analysts. They point out that that country too has always been a fierce opponent of Nord Stream. Thanks to that pipeline, the Russians no longer had to cross Ukrainian territory with their gas to be able to sell it to Europe. Yet you would say that Ukraine has something else on its mind than military actions on the territory of allies.
Finally, fingers point to the Kremlin as the evil genius behind the sabotage. An adviser to the Ukrainian government suggested that Moscow destroyed the pipeline — which it has invested billions in — to frighten the West. Many analysts are embracing that theory, especially after Norwegian authorities announced that there have been reports of suspicious drones around oil rigs lately. The Norwegian Ministry of Energy immediately announced on Tuesday that it will provide extra security for the oil and gas installations.
So the fear-mongering works well. If it is so easy to destroy undersea gas pipelines, its energy supply is extremely vulnerable, Europe realizes. That thought would also be the driving force behind the rising gas price. It jumped 20 percent on Tuesday, after a period of gradual decline.
Of course, there are also warnings amid all the speculation. Like that of Katja Yafimava of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. She emphasized that on Tuesday the rarity arose: both Russia and Europe agreed that Nord Stream had been sabotaged. It led to the sigh in Yafimava: ‘Be careful with wannabe Hercules Poirot and Misses Marple.’