As awful footage shows the Nord Stream pipe churning out millions of tons of natural gas into the Baltic Sea, Europe and Russia have both pointed the finger of blame at each other, but the CIA has said that it warned of a possible sabotage weeks ago.
Ukranian officials have said that the Kremlin “deliberately” sabotaged the pipe, which supplies natural gas to mainland Europe, in order to intensify the energy crisis gripping the continent. Russia, meanwhile, has denied the allegations and is instead demanding answers from the USA, who it says was to blame for the pipe’s mysterious leak.
Nord Stream Pipes Probably Destroyed Forever – Tagesspiegel. German security services suggest that the three pipes of the Baltic gas pipeline Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 will forever be unusable. “Pipes are burning” today in the literal sense 😁 DRUNK⚡️Ukraine | Send news pic.twitter.com/qyXDI3IGDp
— Malinda 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 🇵🇱 🇨🇦 (@TreasChest) September 28, 2022
Yesterday, Swedish officials recorded two huge explosions in the area where the pipes were damaged, clearly indicating that someone was responsible for the awful destruction which will result in the pollution of vast amounts of the sea. The Nord Pipeline burst has now turned into a global ‘who done it’, and everyone seems to have their own theory.
Last night, the CIA issued a statement claiming that it had warned European officials that a strike against the energy supply could be imminent, but the warning did not specifically identify when or where the pipe sabotage might occur.
In a press conference last night, European officials told the Washington Post that “no-one is thinking this is anything other than Russian sabotage”, and the leak happened to occur on the same day that Poland, Norway and Denmark opened a new section of the pipe in the sea.
Meanwhile, some commentators have suggested that Putin would not cut off one of his only remaining major sources of income for Russia, particularly after the country has been financially cut off from the rest of the West since the invasion.
Tucker Carlson pointed out that Biden made the promise that “If Russia invades that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine again. Then there will be, there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it,” which, after yesterday’s events, does sound rather ominous.
“Vladimir Putin may be evil. They tell us that he is evil, but is he stupid? Probably isn’t stupid and yet and, here’s the strange part, if you were Vladimir Putin, you would have to be a suicidal moron to blow up your own energy pipeline. That’s the one thing you would never do.”
Putin is not stupid – he’s strategically very clever, and he plays a very long game of chess. While invasions and destroying his own economy may not be ideal in the short-term, Putin values the unwavering loyalty of Russian citizens above all else, particularly as he began to lose face after announcing forced conscription to his army.
And what better way to re-establish the Russian people’s mistrust of the USA and Europe than by using Biden’s typically reckless statement about the pipeline to his own advantage?
As gas and energy prices continue to soar across Europe, with the UK now facing a major economic crisis as a result, Putin must now think that he has, once again, remained two plays ahead of the flailing West.
This story syndicated with permission from Jo Marney, Author at Trending Politics
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