RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR LIVE: EU insists Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions were sabotage and warns Putin of retaliation
This is the MailOnline’s live blog about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the latest reports about the conflict.
Host commentator
CIA ‘warned about attack on Nord Stream pipes WEEKS ago’
The CIA warned weeks ago that the Nord Stream pipes could be attacked, it has been revealed, after explosions opened three huge fissures in two key gas links that Western leaders say are the result of sabotage.
Agents sent a ‘strategic warning’ to European allies including Germany over the summer that the pipes were at risk, sources told Der Spiegel last night, though they refused to say whether Russia was identified as a culprit. The warning was not specific and did not pinpoint a time or location for an attack, the New York Times added.
The European Union suspects that damage to two underwater natural gas pipelines was sabotage and is warning of retaliation for any attack on Europe’s energy networks, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Wednesday.
‘All available information indicates those leaks are the result of a deliberate act,’ Borrell said in a statement on behalf of the 27 EU member countries. ‘Any deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure is utterly unacceptable and will be met with a robust and united response.’
Seismologists reported Tuesday that explosions rattled the Baltic Sea before unusual leaks were discovered on two underwater natural gas pipelines running from Russia to Germany.
Some European leaders and experts pointed to possible sabotage given the energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. The three leaks were reported on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which are filled with natural gas but are not delivering the fuel to Europe.
Source: Read Full Article
