It is likely that a gas leak in a pipeline between Finland and Estonia in the Baltic Sea on Sunday was caused by an "external action", Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Tuesday afternoon.
- Authorities have now found a leak in Finnish waters. The pipe is damaged and it is likely that it was caused intentionally, according to a press conference on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. local time - 4:30 p.m. Danish time.
At the same press conference, the Finnish Coast Guard said that clear damage had been found to the pipeline. The Coast Guard also assessed that the damage could have been caused by external factors. This is reported by the news agency Reuters.
The President of Finland already wrote on X earlier Tuesday that Finland suspects external forces to have a hand in the game.
- The damage to the underwater infrastructure is being taken seriously, and its causes have been investigated since Sunday. It is likely that the damage to the pipeline and communication cable is due to external activity, it said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has announced that NATO stands ready to help Finland and support the allies that have been affected.
Earlier Tuesday afternoon, the Swedish media SVT wrote that the Finnish military has been involved in the investigation of the leak.
Media: Finland suspects Russia of attack on gas pipeline
The Finnish public service media Yle has learned, based on unnamed sources, that the leak "does not appear to be an accident".
Yle also quotes the Finnish tabloid newspaper Iltalehti as saying that the Finnish government and the Finnish defense suspect Russia of having attacked the pipeline. Iltalehti's story is based on unnamed foreign and security sources and has not been confirmed by any official channels.
It is still unknown exactly what kind of external activity could potentially be involved. According to Finnish and Estonian seismologists, no seismic activity has been measured that indicates an explosion has taken place.
On Sunday night, the pressure suddenly dropped in one of the pipelines that connect the northern European gas network. The head of Finland's state-owned gas operator, Gasgrid, said that there was a break in the line. However, the leak was quickly minimized and the line was taken out of service. This is reported by the Swedish media SVT.
The Balticconnector, as the pipeline is called, runs between Paldiski in Estonia and Ingå in Finland. According to Gasgrid, it could be out of service for several months.
However, Gasgrid's assessment is that the gas supply in Finland is still good, as the country also has a liquid LNG terminal that can produce enough gas to cover everyone's needs. LNG is a liquid form of natural gas.
/ritzau/
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