Germany, Sweden probing Nord Stream pipeline leaks

Denmark and Sweden are looking into the leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines, but a site inspection is yet to be done, and details on what caused the explosions remain sketchy.

A Danish government assessment is underway and it could take up to two weeks for an investigation to begin because the pressure in the pipes makes it difficult to reach the site of the leaks, according to a European official. Another source said the probe could begin as soon as Sunday.

According to European sources familiar with the matter, the Danish government has put in place an exclusion area of five nautical miles and a one kilometer no-fly zone.

The US officials have been more circumspect than their European counterparts in drawing conclusions about the leaks.

A senior U.S. military official and a senior US military official said Russia is still the leading suspect assuming that the European assessment of deliberate sabotage is borne out by the fact that there are no other plausible suspects with the ability and will to carry out the operation.

A Danish military official said it was hard to imagine any other actor in the region with the capabilities and interest to carry out such an operation.

The senior US official said that Russia requested a UN Security Council meeting on the damaged pipeline this week. Russia isn't organized enough to move quickly, suggesting that the maneuver was pre-planned, according to the official.

If Russia did deliberately cause the explosions, it would be effectively sabotaging its own pipelines: Russian state company Gazprom is the majority shareholder in Nord Stream 1 and the sole owner of Nord Stream 2.

Moscow would view such a step as worth it, according to officials familiar with the latest intelligence, if it helped raise the costs of supporting Ukraine for Europe.

US and Western intelligence officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is betting that as electricity costs rise and winter approaches, European publics may turn against Western strategy of isolating Russia economically.

One US official said Russia could be capable of sabotage of the pipelines.