Nord Stream pipeline sabotage beneficial only to Russia, says ex-Ukrainian FM

“Of course, now there is more schizophrenia in Russia on this topic, (claims) that someone did it insidiously – conspiracy theories, special services,” the diplomat said.

“But in fact, the question is very simple: who benefits from this? Today, it’s beneficial only to the Russian regime.”

According to Klimkin, this is because Russia has realized that it has lost the energy war against Europe.

Read also: NATO calls Nord Stream leaks sabotage, threatens decisive response

“And they want to put (an end to the business) right now and say there will be no gas now,” he said.

“After that, they will (attempt to) rock Europe in such a way as to reboot the entire political elite – no more, no less. This is also perfectly clear to the European Union today.”

Klimkin said Russia had already accepted that it would no longer be selling its gas in the European Union.

“Even the Germans are going to Canada, Qatar, and the Emirates and sign contracts for the supply of liquefied gas,” Klimkin said..

“No one wants to depend on the Russian regime anymore. That’s it. This is completely clear even to (Russian dictator Vladimir) Putin.”

According to Klimkin, Russia wants to “create this chaos since they need to reboot Europe this winter” and “first of all, to take revenge.”

“If they don’t do it, they will understand very well that they’ve finally lost out completely against the West,” Klimkin said.

Read also: EU calls Nord Stream gas leaks sabotage

“That’s why these explosions began, and already direct threats with nuclear weapons. Russia perfectly understands the point of no return has really been passed. But I repeat once again: after these explosions, the West is no longer just supporting Ukraine in an allied sense, it’s already a part of this war, but not yet in a military sense.”

During a speech on the illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions on Sept. 30, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin accused the “Anglo-Saxons” of causing the gas leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

The first report of an incident involving the Russia-Europe Nord Stream pipelines occurred on Sept. 26, when the pressure suddenly dropped in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. On Sept. 27, reports emerged of a similar issue with Nord Stream 1.

Both gas pipelines, passing along the bottom of the Baltic Sea off the coast of Sweden and Denmark, were not operational – but were still filled with technical gas for pressurization.

Read also: Fourth gas leak discovered near Nord Stream pipelines, reports Swedish Coast Guard

The pressure drop was recorded at a section of the pipeline located at a depth of about 70 meters near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea – just outside the territorial waters of Denmark, but in its exclusive economic zone.

In total, three major leaks were recorded in the space of days. On Sept. 29, the Swedish Coast Guard reported a fourth gas leak.

Bjorn Lund, professor at the Swedish National Seismic Center SNSN, said that these explosions were obviously artificial, and not geological in nature.

According to the German media, the German government ruled out the accidental nature of the leaks and considered them deliberate sabotage. The Swedish and Danish authorities also called the leaks the result of “deliberate actions” and possible sabotage.

The German security services assume that both lines of the Nord Stream-1 pipeline, and one line of the Nord Stream-2 pipeline, will never be usable again after these explosions, writes German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sept. 29 that it was still too soon to speculate who might have been behind the Nord Stream pipeline ruptures.

According to CNN, European security officials on Sept. 26-27 observed Russian Navy support ships in the vicinity of leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines, which were likely caused by underwater explosions.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine