– We have a major war in Europe right now. Norwegian gas supply is probably the biggest and most strategically important target of sabotage in the whole of Europe right now, says lieutenant colonel and researcher at the Norwegian Defense Academy Geir Hågen Karlsen to news. He says a sabotage attempt can be made in several ways, with divers, submarines, unmanned vessels or cyber attacks against land installations. – I think I should take that threat very seriously. If that were to happen, I am facing a very serious escalation of the conflict. – Is it urgent? – The whole debate today has shown that very clearly. Indications that humans are behind it On Tuesday, it became known that both the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines leaked just outside the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea on Danish and Swedish territory. The pipeline has three large leaks. According to the Swedish Seismological Centre, measuring stations in both Denmark and Sweden recorded two explosions at the pipelines on Monday. A seismologist at a university in Uppsala answers the one explosion to an explosion caused by 100 kilograms of dynamite, reports Reuters. – It is next to unlikely that there are other things that an anchor or a vessel has come across in some way, and then everything indicates that it is a human being behind it, says Karlsen. – I do not know of any case where pipelines have exploded on the bottom. Neither Nord Stream 1 nor 2 is currently in use. – If it is Russia that is behind it, and it is certain because I am not sure, then I would think it is a form of political signal to the West, where they say: Look what we can do, take us seriously, says Karlsen. See Debate on the gas leak in the Baltic Sea. The government suggests that it may be sabotage. Mehl: No indications of such an incident in Norway According to Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp), there are no indications now that Norway will be exposed to a “similar incident right now”. – But what is absolutely certain is that hybrid threats and sabotage actions are a threat to Norway, and that threat has intensified after the war in Ukraine, she says to news. – That is why we have taken a number of measures over the past six months: We have strengthened PST, e-tenesta and the National Insurance Agency to be able to uncover and prevent these things. Right now I have an event that has seen this very much on the agenda. – It is important for me to be clear that the government takes this very seriously, says Mehl. Mehl confirms that she will also go to the Storting together with the energy minister to clarify the situation on Wednesday. Has had contact with Nato Mehl says that the Norwegian intelligence service cooperates closely with our Nordic neighbours. She also confirms that Norway has had contact with allied countries in NATO during the day. She describes the collaboration as good. – It is important in the times we live in. We see that the action is causing unrest throughout Europe, and therefore it is important that we have good cooperation. For reasons of security policy, the minister cannot go into more detail about this work.
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Believes that Norwegian gas supply is probably Europe’s biggest sabotage target – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
