Nord Stream 1 & 2 sabotage

On 26 September 2022, a series of underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm, within the Danish and Swedish exclusive economic zones. Four leaks were detected across three of the four pipeline strings: both lines of Nord Stream 1 and one line of Nord Stream 2 were severed, while the second Nord Stream 2 line remained intact. Neither pipeline was delivering gas to Europe at the time, though both held pressurised gas that escaped to the surface.

The absence of flowing gas was itself a product of the energy standoff that accompanied Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia's Gazprom had progressively throttled and then, on around 2 September 2022, indefinitely shut Nord Stream 1, blaming an oil leak in a turbine at the Portovaya compressor station, as reported by Offshore Technology. Siemens Energy, which services the turbines, said such a leak does not normally prevent operation and could be sealed on site, and Western governments and analysts, as argued in Foreign Affairs, assessed the maintenance justification as a pretext for Moscow weaponising gas supplies in response to sanctions and European support for Ukraine. Nord Stream 2 had never entered commercial service: Germany suspended its certification on 22 February 2022 after Russia recognised the Donbas separatist regions, as reported by Euronews, so it never delivered gas.

Seismic stations in Sweden and Denmark recorded two strong tremors characteristic of explosions rather than natural seismic activity. On 30 September 2022, Denmark and Sweden told the UN Security Council the leaks were caused by detonations equivalent to several hundred kilograms of explosives, and Swedish investigators later reported finding explosive residue at the sites, confirming deliberate sabotage. Separate national investigations were opened by Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Sweden and Denmark closed their probes in early 2024 without assigning responsibility, leaving Germany's federal investigation as the sole active inquiry. German prosecutors have since pursued a group of Ukrainian nationals alleged to have used a chartered yacht, the Andromeda, departing from Rostock, and have issued European arrest warrants. Russia and Ukraine deny involvement, and several competing theories remain unresolved.

That the pipelines were destroyed by a deliberate, large explosive attack is firmly established by seismic data and residue findings; this was sabotage, not an accident. Responsibility, however, remains contested and legally unproven. German investigators have focused on a Ukrainian-linked group: Italy's top court approved extraditing one suspect to Germany, while a Polish court in October 2025 refused to extradite a second suspect. Both men dispute the allegations, and Ukrainian and Russian officials deny state involvement. No perpetrator has been convicted, and rival theories persist, so attribution should be treated as alleged.