The sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline
Ammar Ahmad
On September 26, 2022, the Nord Stream pipeline I and II exploded, spilling over 500 million cubic meters of gas. The pipelines were constructed by Gazprom, a Russian multinational energy corporation, supplying around 55 percent of Germany’s oil–convoluting the already-existing tension in Eastern Europe. This sabotage proved controversial due to the pipeline's role in providing Germany with cheap Russian gas since April 2010. These pipelines spanned over 750 miles under the Baltic Sea and transported 59.2 billion cubic meters of gas in 2021 alone. Who was the culprit? According to Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour M. Hersh, the United States sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines.
When reports of the pipeline’s explosion reached the U.S., news outlets denied any connection between the U.S. and the event. One American intelligence official subtly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin: “Russian activities in the Baltic Sea have increased in recent years. They’re often testing our awareness – both at sea and in the air”, further claiming that Russian Navy ships were spotted in the vicinity of the pipeline leak. On the other hand, President Joe Biden called the incident “a deliberate act of sabotage” against Germany and that “the Russians are pumping out disinformation and lies” about the pipeline’s explosion.
But why would Russia blow up its own pipelines? Western experts claimed that this Russian self-involvement was a tactic to weaponize the energy dependency of Europe. However, following the explosion, Putin offered to supply Germany with natural gas through the intact parts of the Nord Stream pipeline II. Germany declined this offer amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which took place 8 months prior to the Nord Stream explosion. So, if Russia blew up the pipelines, why would it then offer to supply gas through their pipelines?
The U.S. has long criticized the Nord Stream pipeline, seeing it as an existential threat to America’s dominance over Europe. For instance, in 2019, the Trump administration sanctioned companies involved with the Nord Stream pipeline II out of fear that Germany would depend on Russia for energy, loosening the grip that the U.S. has on Europe as a whole. Then, in 2021, the Biden administration waived these sanctions. But when Russia invaded Ukraine, Biden revived the sanctions on the Russian company that built the Nord Stream pipeline II only a day after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz blocked the pipeline’s certification process (which would have allowed Germany to receive natural gas from Russia). The unwarranted sanctioning of entities associated with the pipeline served as a direct attempt to curb the economic and political power that Russia gained through providing oil to Germany, a key player in European geopolitics. Lastly, at a joint news conference with Scholz on February 7th, 2022, Biden claimed that the U.S. “will bring [Nord Stream pipeline II] to an end.” (When asked to elaborate on this by a reporter, Biden smiled and said: “I promise we will be able to do it.”)
Further, on September 22nd, 2022, U.S. Secretary Antony Blinken publicly stated that the Nord Stream pipeline destruction serves as “a tremendous opportunity…to once and for all remove the dependence on Russian energy.” Two weeks later, Putin responded by saying that “the ball is in the European Union's court. If they want to, then the taps can be turned on and that's it.” Putin even advocated for the pipeline’s repairs, which Germany, under the pressure of the U.S. and in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, dismissed. Putin said that he saw Germany “fulfilling some kind of alliance commitment, as they see it, or safeguarding their national interests.”
With Russian gas out of the question, Germany scrambled to find a reliable source of energy for its people, bracing for a cold and long winter — the German government has asked citizens to reduce gas consumption by at least 20% in order to avoid emergency cuts, which include purchasing electrical heaters and wood stoves. More pressingly, Germany was at risk of falling into an unprecedented recession following its economic terminations with Russia.
It’s critical to note that Sweden and Denmark have launched an extensive investigation into the Nord Stream destruction, claiming that the Nord Stream pipeline was damaged “by powerful explosions due to sabotage.” In response to this, Russia has urged Sweden and Denmark to release their findings. The U.N. Security Council met on February 21st to discuss this act of terrorism after Moscow repeatedly asked for an independent inquiry. The outcome of this inquiry has not been declassified to the public. Obscuring the matter even more, American intelligence suggests that a “pro-Ukrainian” group was behind the Nord Stream attack while Ukraine denied any involvement. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has read these news reports with “great interest”, but has yet to draw any conclusions.
Ultimately, the perpetrator of the Nord Stream sabotage is no friend of Germany. As the proxy war between the U.S. and Russia continues to develop in Ukraine, the U.S. realizes the importance of having Europe’s unwavering loyalty on its side. That’s why, according to the Hersh report, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) worked covertly to try and cover up the Navy mission. Nathan J. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief of the Current Affairs, took to Twitter to cleverly note that this geopolitical sabotage would be considered a “major act of international terrorism” and “would be labeled as such if Russia did it to us”, showcasing the importance of the Hersh report.
In response to the Hersh report, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pushed for NATO leaders to host an “emergency summit” to discuss the situation. However, after weeks of silence, the pipelines have been mothballed by Gazprom and their fate is yet to be decided. Meanwhile, the White House has denied the Hersh report, calling it “utterly false.”
As these events unfold in the coming weeks, Germany (and Europe as a whole) may review their American partnership with careful criticism. In the future, events such as this may encourage Germany (and perhaps Europe as a whole) to act in a more independent manner. That way, European countries can cooperate with two superpowers such as the U.S. and Russia, allowing for a possible buffer between the cold-war opponents.
