Estonia: Human responsibility for damage to a gas pipeline

A human being is responsible for the damage to the gas pipeline connecting Finland with Estonia, say the Estonian authorities. However, they advise not to draw hasty conclusions.

The gas pipeline connecting Finland with Estonia was damaged on Sunday night. On Tuesday, Finland confirmed the information about the failure. The Estonian ministers of defense, foreign affairs and climate said that humans were responsible for the damage to the pipeline.

Case pending

During a press conference on Tuesday, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur advised against drawing hasty conclusions. He stated that the case is ongoing and no one can be blamed for the incident yet.

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas announced on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that she had discussed the failure with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Charles Michel. The issues of jointly strengthening the protection of critical infrastructure were discussed.

The damage to the gas pipeline was previously confirmed by the Finnish authorities. The Prime Minister of Finland indicated that the failure could have been caused by Russia’s actions.

Gas pipeline failure

The Balticconnector connection was closed early Sunday amid fears of a gas leak in the 77-kilometer pipeline. Finnish operator Gasgrid said repairs could take months or longer. A fault was also detected in a telecommunications cable between Finland and Estonia.

This is another recent failure of the international gas transmission installation. A year has passed since the leak in the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Let us recall: first, on the eve of the opening of the Baltic Pipe, there was a leak from Nord Stream 2. In turn, on the day of the symbolic launch of the Polish gas pipeline, two more leaks were reported – this time they concerned the lines of Nord Stream 1. Underwater explosions were recorded in the places of damage.

– It is still too early to draw conclusions, but this is an extraordinary situation. There are three leaks, it is difficult to imagine that it could be accidental, said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to the Danish public broadcaster DR.