(by Massimiliano D'Elia and Giuseppe Paccione) The NATO Atlantic Council this morning he released a statement highlighting that the incident in the Baltic took place in international waters, where no national jurisdiction is in force:
"The damage to the Nordstream 1 and Nordstream 2 pipelines in the international waters of the Baltic Sea is of deep concern. All the information currently available indicates that this is the result of deliberate, reckless and irresponsible acts of sabotage. These leaks cause shipping hazards and substantial environmental damage. We support ongoing investigations to determine the source of the damage. We, as allies, have pledged to prepare for, discourage and defend against the coercive use of energy and other hybrid tactics by state and non-state actors. Any deliberate attack on the critical infrastructure of the allies will be met with a united and determined response".
The Hybrid War on Pipelines
La CIA, in July, according to the "Spiegel"Had warned the allies and Berlin about a possible sabotage to the gas pipelines Nord Stream II and II. The head of Germany's external security agency - BND - Gerhard Schindler told the national media that "in principle, possible intelligence warnings and results are not commented on. We have no concrete evidence that there was a natural cause on the accident in the pipelines of the gas pipelines ”.
August Hanning, who led the BND until 2000, assumes, like Schindler, that the tampering was done on behalf of a state:“This operation was obviously carried out in such a professional and complex way that only well-trained special forces can carry it out". He also pointed out that the submarines are unlikely to have approached the pipeline because they would have been detected by satellites and radar. However, a drone strike could be considered. Ergo, it is very plausible that under highly specialized could have placed explosive devices. “It must now be carefully clarified which State actor is behind the alleged sabotage. Such a sabotage activity leaves its mark somewhere ", emphasized Hanning.
The former Polish Minister of Defense and Foreign Affairs, Radoslaw Tomasz Sikorski, accused the United States of being responsible for the incident. On Twitter she captioned a photo of one of the three gas leaks: "Thanks, USA". In subsequent tweets, he added: “By the way, there is no shortage of pipeline capacity to transport gas from Russia to Western Europe, including Germany. Nord Stream's only logic is Putin's weapon to blackmail Eastern Europe ”. All the countries bordering the Baltic Sea, including Ukraine, have always spoken out against the construction of the Nord Stream.
Former BND agent Gerhard Conrad does not comment on any culprits: "First of all, thorough forensic examinations must be carried out which, at the moment, cannot be performed ". "It is conceivable that the sabotage may have been implemented through the use of torpedoes". Regarding the alleged US intelligence warning, Conrad "condemns" by saying that the warnings between the intelligence they have always been there, but it is important to know how accurate these are. There have also been, for example, repeated warnings about submarine cables for the internet connecting the different continents.
Il German Federal government stressed that, to date, it is not possible to carry out in-depth investigations around the damaged areas, for the mere reason that the gas must escape completely. He then made it known, through one of his spokesmen, that it will not be easy to find the cause and origin of the alleged acts of sabotage.
As reported the "Daily Telegraph", British intelligence claims that Moscow is capable of carrying out sabotage activities in depth, through the use of a particular model of submarine assigned to the external secret service (CRANE), the Belgorod, Oscar-III class, and coordinated by Gugi - Directorate for underwater research.
However, even if the currents in that stretch of sea are strong, it is impossible to escape the satellite detection or sonar of the Atlantic Alliance submarines. Among the hypotheses being examined by international analysts there could be the use of a merchant ship, or one yacht private with on board under special forces flanked by divers able to operate undisturbed even at over 70 meters depth. According to the 'Telegraph', the explosives may have been placed in predetermined points of the pipelines even months earlier, capable of being subsequently triggered remotely. Another hypothesis is the use of underwater drones.
The reactions
Western countries have asked for an international inquiry. The Russians say they are willing to cooperate, announcing that they have opened ainvestigation for terrorism. Even the Swedish and Finnish judicial authorities have launched parallel investigations. The Finnish Foreign Minister, Pekka, announced that the judiciary is examining all movements of ships in the Baltic Sea, trying to identify any passages near the pipelines concerned.
On the allegations of sabotage against Moscow, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, replied that these are "stupid and absurd" accusations, pointing the "J'accuse" against Washington and Kiev.
Russia, through the national media, has reported on the attempted sabotage of the pipeline 'Turkish Stream " a week ago whose responsibility was attributed to the government of Kiev. In support of the thesis, the Russian press, primed by the Kremlin, has spread the news that NATO has specialists in submarine warfare. The attack on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline was thwarted on 22 September by the security services of Moscow. The Kremlin claims that small unmanned submarines, similar to those recovered with explosives off the coast of Crimea, would have departed from a British base, located near a Norwegian port, north of Tromso. The Russians also speak of a probable Norwegian responsibility as Oslo wants to fight the Russian gas, through its recently inaugurated gas pipeline.
The Italian Defense oversees the "pipeline " in the Mediterranean
Gianluca Di Feo on Repubblica interviewed the Chief of Defense Staff, admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone who, in no uncertain terms, stated: "We have been aware of this threat for years, already when I was at the top of the Navy I spoke about it in the hearings in Parliament, and we are prepared to face it".
A few hours after the news of gas leaks in Baltic international waters, a plan was launched to enhance the protection of the strategic arteries that cross the Mediterranean and guarantee Italy's energy resources. The admiral also summarized as follows: “We have decided to immediately increase the measures for the protection of strategic networks for the national interest. Starting with the three gas pipelines that pass through the Strait of Sicily. Two ships equipped with small remote-controlled submarines will monitor the key points of the pipelines. On board there are teams from the Underwater Operational Group ”.
To monitor the more than three hundred kilometers of pipelines, from which sources of energy and gas pass, from the countries of North Africa, spot checks will be carried out in an underwater environment.
The military mission was entrusted to Numana minesweeper, which has two remote-controlled robots capable of descending to six hundred meters. It will accompany him ship Antaeus, specialized in rescuing submarines with Hitech equipment, which has a small submarine on board that can carry up to six divers at a depth of three hundred meters.
The Chief of Defense Staff confirmed that the prevention activity on the gas pipelines in the Sicilian Channel has doubled, but also on the surface. Since last February, he has specified Cavo Dragone, a unit of the Navy, together with the aircraft P72 ofaeronautics Military, monitor all the movements of the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean close to our territorial waters.
