On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin was accused of sabotage after a series of undersea explosions caused "unprecedented" damage to gas pipelines meant to serve Europe.

Ships were told to avoid a five-mile exclusion zone surrounding the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipes on the Baltic Sea bed, amid worries of sinking in methane bubbles spanning up to 1,000 meters.

Low-flying aircraft were also prohibited from entering the exclusion zone in order to avert tragedy if the gas ignited.

"Today we faced an act of sabotage—we don't know all the facts of what occurred, but we see clearly that it's an act of sabotage, connected to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine," said Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

The German, Danish, and Norwegian governments think the leaks were the result of sabotage rather than an accident. According to Sweden's National Seismic Network, the heaviest of the explosions weighed more than 100 kg of dynamite.

Following the explosions and reports of unidentifiable drones near several of its gas plants, Norway has tightened security at all of its gas sites. "Based on what we've seen so far, much points to sabotage," Terje Aasland, Norway's oil and energy minister, said.

Spiegel magazine said US agencies had informed Germany about probable assaults on gas pipelines in the Baltics weeks ago, citing sources who blamed the leaks on a deliberate strike.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, condemned Russia for a "terrorist attack" on the EU and urged Berlin to expedite weapon deliveries to Kyiv.

The network's operator, Nord Stream AG, stated that the damage to the pipes was "unprecedented" and that a timetable for repairs could not be determined.

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, stated that if Russian sabotage was proved, it would be "in nobody's interest."

European gas prices surged by up to 20% on Tuesday after falling for the previous four days amid an intensifying energy war in which Putin is betting that the West will collapse first.

Following the spills on the Danish island of Bornholm, adjacent to both pipelines and near where a Russian vessel repeatedly breached territorial seas in June, investigations are underway in Germany, Denmark, and Sweden.

Source: Reuters