Blasts in the Baltic and State-Sponsored Attacks on Maritime Infrastructure
Maryem
Mon, 10/03/2022 – 16:34
Last Monday Denmark and Sweden discovered gas leaking from four locations along the Nord Stream gas pipelines that run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to points west. Seismic sensors indicated that the leaks were caused by undersea blasts. Suspicion immediately fell on Russia, although most European leaders danced around naming Moscow as the culprit. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson stated the explosions were “likely an act of sabotage.” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was warmer by claiming the likely sabotage was “related to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine.” It remained for the Ukrainians to touch the hot stove. Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak took to Twitter to label the explosions “a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards [the] EU.” Nord Stream 2 was never operational, and Russia had already cut off shipments of gas along Nord Stream 1, so what did the Kremlin have to gain by sabotaging pipelines that delivered Russian gas to its customers?
The incident was reminiscent of a similar episode in the Gulf War of 1991, when Iraqi President Saddam …read more
Source:: Hoover Institution