New Images Reveal Extent of Damage Done to Nord Stream After Explosion

The first images taken of the damaged Nord Stream pipelines have been revealed, showing the extent of the damage done to them.

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which transported gas from Russia to Germany underneath the Baltic Sea, suffered a rupture late last month. On Tuesday, the Swedish newspaper, Expressen, published the first underwater photos and videos of the damaged pipeline taken by an underwater drone.

The new images appear to show tears on the seabed near the site of one of the ruptured pipes. The Nord Stream structure itself appeared to have suffered more severe damage than suspected, with a chunk of the pipeline completely torn apart, not just cracked open. Roughly 50 meters of the structure are estimated to be missing due to the attack.

Three investigations are currently being carried out to determine the full extent of the damage done to the pipelines and to ascertain who is responsible for the damage. The German government, according to The Guardian, confirmed on Monday that the investigations will be carried out separately by Danish, Swedish, and German authorities.

Swedish officials declined the offer of a joint investigation, citing "national security" concerns. So far, Danish investigators believe that the damage to the Nord Stream pipelines by "powerful explosions."

Speculation has run rampant since the pipelines were damaged in late September, a common theory being that they were intentionally sabotaged. Russia, for its part, has dismissed accusations that the country was responsible for attacking the structures.

"That's quite predictable and also predictably stupid," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said about the suggestion. "This is a big problem for us because, firstly, both lines of Nord Stream 2 are filled with gas; the entire system is ready to pump gas and the gas is very expensive... Now the gas is flying off into the air. Are we interested in that? No, we are not, we have lost a route for gas supplies to Europe."

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, suggested that Russia's enemies in the West might be responsible for the incident, blaming so-called "Anglo-Saxons" and calling the destruction of the pipelines "terror attacks."

"Those who profit from it have done it," the Russian leader said in an address on September 30.

President Joe Biden also condemned the incident as "a deliberate act of sabotage," but stopped short of pointing blame.

"It was a deliberate act of sabotage and the Russians are pumping out disinformation and lies," Biden said. "At the appropriate moment, when things calm down, we're going to be sending divers down to find out exactly what happened. We don't know that yet exactly."

Newsweek reached out to Nord Stream for comment.