Helsinki is looking into whether sabotage was responsible for a gas leak from a Baltic Sea pipeline and the breakage of a data cable connecting Finland and Estonia.
Sauli Niinisto said that damage to the cable and pipeline was caused by “external activities”, but the exact cause is “not yet known”. Later on Tuesday, Elina Valtonen, Finland’s Foreign Minister, said that the two underwater links had “probably been damaged deliberately”.
Last year, the Baltic Sea was awash with explosions that destroyed the Nord Stream pipelines connecting Germany and Russia.
The president stated that he spoke to Jens Stoltenberg about the damage. Finland, which has a 1,300km-long border with Russia and joined the west-side alliance in April after Moscow’s full invasion of Ukraine , ended decades of nonalignment. Estonia is a Nato Member since 2004.
Finland, Estonia and other countries have recently reported that there may be a leak in the 77km long pipeline which runs across the Gulf of Helsinki, connecting the two nations. The pipeline is scheduled to open in 2020.
Officials confirmed that a ship passed over the pipeline causing damage. However, the weather at the time was very stormy and they could not confirm whether it was an accident or deliberate sabotage.
“The investigation will be continued in cooperation between Finland and Estonia.” We also keep in touch with allies and partners. . . Finland is well prepared. “These events do not have any impact on our supply security,” Niinisto said.
Stoltenberg stated that Nato “shares information and is ready to assist allies in need”.
Henri Vanhanen is a researcher with the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. He said that the willingness of the Finnish authorities to suspect sabotage was a “strong indication of hostile intent”.
This is a test for the alliance. How will it react, if, for instance, evidence of Russian interference is found?
He said: “If Russia was the perpetrator, the big question would be why it would need to cut off the gas and telecommunications connections in Finland?” “Is there a larger plan?”
Norsar, a Norwegian seismological organization, announced on Tuesday that it detected a possible explosion in the Baltic Sea on Sunday morning. Stations in Finland reported an explosion near gas pipelines in the eastern Baltic Sea. The data is being analysed further, it said.
Margus Tsahkna, Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus said that he spoke to his Finnish counterpart regarding “the worrying situation”. Finland’s PetteriOrpo, the prime minister of Finland, said that it appeared as though the data cable cut occurred in Estonian water while the leak in the gas pipeline was in Finland.
Ursula von der Leyen said that she spoke to Orpo, and the Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. She said that the investigation was based on a possible intentional act. This is the second instance in less than a year where critical infrastructure has been damaged. . . “I strongly condemn any deliberate act of destruction of critical infrastructure.”
Alex Stubb is a former Finnish prime minister who is running for the presidency. He said that Russia had been responsible. He said that “nobody pointed the finger, but it was not the Swedes.” “This is how Russia pokes at you to make you react. They will keep doing this. “We should remain cool, calm and collected.”
Despite extensive investigations conducted by Denmark, Sweden, and Germany, no one has publicly been blamed for the Nord Stream blasts of September 2022. German prosecutors have been focusing their attention on a potential pro-Ukraine organization, while in Scandinavia the focus has been on several Russian military vessels observed in the region.
Stoltenberg made it clear that a Nato attack on the energy infrastructure of one of its member states would be considered an attack against Nato. He said that Norway alone has 8,000 km of cables and pipelines.
Both Finland and Estonia have alternative gas sources. Finland can get gas via a terminal for liquefied gas, while Estonia gets gas from a storage facility in Latvia or an LNG terminal located in Lithuania. The majority of gas in the pipeline was being transported via Estonia from Finland to Latvia at the time the leak occurred.
Orpo stated that the investigation is in its initial stages, but assured Finns of the “good” security of their energy supplies.