The Nord Stream pipeline to Europe of Russian gas was once considered a victory in cross-border business activities, but the conflict in Ukraine has ended this view, Foreign Policy writer Elisabeth Braw commented.
Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 - two gas pipelines built to bring Russian gas to Germany, were leaked at three locations on September 27, 2022.
Because both pipelines are filled with gas, a large amount of methane has emitted into the atmosphere. A few hours later, Swedish authorities announced the discovery of the fourth leak location.
Shortly after, Sweden, Denmark, the European Commission and the US government declared the Nord Stream pipeline leak as sabotage.
Regardless of who is responsible, this sabotage would mean a dramatic end to two gas pipelines formed during the peak of the globalization process to supply gas from Russia to Germany and other European countries, Foreign Policy said.
Proponents of globalization consider these two gas pipelines a great success for borderless business.
In contrast, Poland, Ukraine and Baltic countries have accused Germany of making it dangerously dependent on Russia when building the Nord Stream pipeline.
According to Reuters, the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines are majority owned by Russian energy giant Gazprom and are used to transport gas from Russia to Europe via the Baltic to the end point in Germany.
Nord Stream was completed and put into operation in 2011. Nord Stream 2 was completed in the fall of 2021 but has never been put into operation. After the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out on February 24, 2022, Germany revoked the Nord Stream 2 certificate, so the pipeline has never been officially operated.
Both gas pipelines cross the Baltic Sea, bypassing existing pipelines passing through Ukraine, which means Ukraine will not only lose its transit fee income but will also not be able to directly use the gas the pipeline system carries.
Before the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 sabotage, Gazprom temporarily suspended gas flows through Nord Stream on September 2, 2022, citing issues related to Europe's sanctions against Russia.
Three weeks later, both Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 encountered problems that led to inactivity and significant leakage of available gas in the pipeline.
The depth of the pipeline and the complexity of using underwater explosives have led many to believe that state actors with expertise in handling such operations could have caused the attack.
So far, investigations into Nord Stream by Denmark, Sweden and Germany have not reached any conclusion on the perpetrator of the pipeline sabotage.
