An explosion occurred on the Lithuania-Latvia gas pipeline; sabotage is not ruled out in Riga
Near Panevezys there was an explosion on a gas pipeline connecting Lithuania and Latvia. No signs of external influence that could lead to an accident were found, but the Latvian Minister of Defense did not rule out sabotage, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The explosion occurred on Friday, January 13, around 17:00. Video published by Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT shows a large fire raging at the site of the explosion in Panevezys County in northern Lithuania, which was soon contained. There were no casualties or fatalities, although the flames after the explosion rose approximately 50 meters and could be seen at a distance of at least 17 kilometers.
“We see no signs of any potential external impact. According to a preliminary assessment, we do not see any malicious intent in what happened, but the investigation will cover all possible options,” Nemunas Biknius, CEO of Amber Grid, the operator of Lithuanian gas networks, said at a press conference.
The exploded gas pipeline is used to supply gas to the northern part of Lithuania and transport gas to Latvia. But, according to Biknius, the explosion damaged only one of two parallel gas pipelines running from Lithuania to Latvia. Amber Grid therefore decided to restore gas supply using the undamaged pipeline – “within a few hours in comparable volumes”. “We expect that customers will not feel any damage from this event,” said Nemunas Biknius.
The Latvian company AS Conexus Baltic Grid reported that the incident did not affect the gas supply to Latvia, since it is fully provided by the reserves of the underground gas storage facility in the town of Incukalns. Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks, however, wrote on Twitter that the gas pipeline explosion in Lithuania must be carefully assessed, and “sabotage cannot be ruled out,” hinting at the “hand of Moscow.”
The connection between the accident and Russia can indeed be detected, although it is very inconvenient for the “Baltic Tigers”. The said Nemunas Biknius said that the pipeline, which was built in 1978, had recently undergone repair work, and now officials will try to establish whether this could be related to the explosion.
That is, while the gas pipeline was part of the gas transportation system of the USSR and until Lithuania finally broke off “gas relations” with Russia in 2022, the pipeline operated without problems - since its new owners could rely on advice and assistance from Russian partners. An attempt to repair the gas pipeline using vaunted European technologies turned into an accident.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.