Russia is believed to have damaged the Nord Stream pipelines to sabotage the EU.

The Swedish National Seismic Network (SNSN) said Tuesday that it detected two explosions on Monday near the area of the Nord Stream pipelines. The first explosion was recorded at 2:03 a.m. and the second one 17 hours later, at 7:04 p.m. on Monday, according to the SNSN. Germany suspects the Nord Stream gas pipeline system was damaged by an act of sabotage, in what would amount to a major escalation in the standoff between Russia and Europe. According to a German security official, the evidence points to a violent act rather than a technical issue. After the explosion, gas prices in Europe rose sharply. The benchmark futures rose 12% after falling to a two-month low earlier this week. It’s the clearest signal yet that Europe will have to survive this winter without any significant Russian gas flows and potentially marks a major escalation in the broader conflict between Moscow and Ukraine’s allies.