Around a year after the incident at the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, Finland has discovered damage to a gas pipeline to Estonia. Finland assumes external influences are said to have caused the leak in the “Balticconnector” pipeline.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo left little doubt at his media conference. The interruption of the gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea between Finland and Estonia was the result of sabotage: “After the pressure in the Baltic Connector pipeline suddenly decreased on Sunday, our investigations showed a leak in the pipeline that was caused by external influences.”
The damage to the infrastructure is more extensive than initially assumed.
Finland and Estonia are around 70 kilometers apart on the Baltic Sea. Since Finland joined NATO in the spring and the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the Gulf of Finland has been considered a security hotspot. The eastern part of the Baltic Sea borders Russia near St. Petersburg and forms an important waterway for Russian warships and oil tankers.
Two small explosions on Sunday night
Where the leak was discovered on Tuesday, seismologists registered two smaller explosions on Sunday night. It now appears that both the gas pipe and the internet cable were damaged in the sabotage.
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur says these are massive violations of the sovereignty of Estonia and Finland. Pevkur also gave an assessment of the damage to the media in Tallinn: “The damage to the infrastructure is more extensive than initially assumed.”
NATO pledges support to Finland and Estonia
After a telephone conversation with Finnish President Sauli Niniistö, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenbeg assured the two member states of the alliance’s support. In particular, NATO naval units should better monitor the fairways in the Baltic Sea in the future.
The Balticconnector gas pipeline was started following Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, which violated international law. The aim was to reduce the energy dependence of Finland and Estonia on their large neighbors to the east. Last year, the two countries completely stopped importing Russian gas.