Kremlin denies sabotage of Nord Stream pipelines: “expected, stupid and absurd”

Danish and Swedish authorities on Tuesday discovered three leaks in undersea pipelines between Russia and Germany, all off the Danish island of Bornholm, in the Baltic Sea: one at Nord Stream 2 and two at Nord Stream 1. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. On Tuesday evening, he spoke of an “act of sabotage” to which the European Union would respond “with the strongest possible response.”

“It was entirely expected” that some would blame Russia, a Kremlin spokesman said. “It is predictable, it is stupid and absurd,” he added, noting that leaks are also a problem for Russia because leaking Russian gas “costs a lot of money.” “The whole system is ready to pump gas, and this gas is very expensive,” he said.

‘hysterical reaction’

“We see the hysterical reaction of the Poles (and) the huge profits of American suppliers of LNG, who have increased their shipments to the European continent,” Peskov added.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova demanded that US President Joe Biden should say whether Washington was behind the leaks or not. The spokeswoman recalled a statement by Biden going back to early February, just before the Russian invasion. If Moscow intervenes militarily in Ukraine, Washington “puts an end” to Nord Stream 2.

Zakharova insists that Europe “must know the truth”. It was not clear after Wednesday the cause of the leaks in the gas pipelines.

Ukraine immediately blamed Moscow for the sabotage.