Damage to the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Europe was caused by powerful explosions, Danish police said on Tuesday, echoing earlier findings into leaks that erupted in the network under the Baltic Sea and that have been blamed on sabotage.
In what a Swedish newspaper described as the first publicly released footage of damage to the system, film from a private drone appeared to show a gaping rupture in one pipe. Expressen reported a 50-meter section missing from one area of pipeline.
Dwindling flows of gas from Russia, which once supplied 40% of Europe’s needs, has left the European Union struggling to unite over how to respond to surging prices that have deepened a cost-of-living crisis for families and businesses.
The European Commission was expected to make proposals on Tuesday to develop a new EU benchmark price for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and kickstart joint gas purchases, amid divisions between countries over whether to cap gas prices.
European states, meanwhile, have raced to protect other energy infrastructure from Norwegian energy installations to German power lines after blaming the Nord Stream leaks on sabotage, but they have stopped short of saying who was behind the ruptures that were discovered on Sept. 26.
