We don't know when those remotely triggered explosives were laid, it's perfectly possible that the Russians did themselves after all they already have have form for these kind of operations.
Russia’s Purported Sabotage Of The Nord Stream Pipeline Marks A Point Of No Return
Russia’s Purported Sabotage Of The Nord Stream Pipeline Marks A Point Of No Return
On April 28, 1986, two days after the Chernobyl disaster, Swedish scientists detected radiation emanating from the Soviet Union. After much hemming and hawing, the Western detection of radiation forced the Soviets to admit to the world what had happened in Chernobyl and retract previous statements.
History once again rhymed when on Sept. 27, 2022, seismographs near Bornholm, Denmark recorded two explosions emanating from the Nord Stream pipeline. This discredits earlier Russian statements that these are simple leaks. And don’t expect Russian President Vladimir Putin to come clean like Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev eventually did.
This is not the first time the Russians have — in my opinion — lied about energy infrastructure damage to weaponize their energy resources or geographical position as a transit country. Multiple prewar disputes with Ukraine, Finland, the Baltics, and recent attempts to hold Kazakhstan’s energy exports hostage due to its defiance regarding Ukraine, stand out as examples. In every case, the Russians obfuscated by blaming “storms,” “poor equipment,” and even a rubber duck to drum up plausible deniability.
However, the attacks on Nord Stream are more dire than anything we previously saw. This suspected act of sabotage signals a point of no return. The economic damage caused by these attacks has Europe poised to land in a recession as deep as the one in 2009.
There can now be no negotiated reopening or resumption of deliveries even if the battlefields of Ukraine instantly fall silent. The Russians have achieved their immediate goal, with Reuters reporting “Nord Stream AG said it was impossible to estimate when the gas network system’s working capability would be restored.” This winter, Europe is doomed to face the worst energy crisis since the Arab oil embargo of 1974, or worse.
European leaders have already decided this was sabotage. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki described the presumed attack as the “next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine” while the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called them “deliberate acts.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised “the strongest possible response to attacks on European energy infrastructure.” Norway responded by deploying its armed forces to guard pipelines from any further “accidents.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielc...ne-mark-a-point-of-no-return/?sh=70ff2ee5dba8
