Posted on 05/07/2007 8:25:43 AM PDT by nypokerface
KIEV (AFP) - An explosion Monday in Ukraine knocked out of service one of the main pipelines exporting Russian natural gas to the European Union, the Ukrainian emergency situations ministry told AFP.
A "large explosion" cut the pipeline, which carries Siberian gas through Ukraine to Germany and other EU clients, ministry spokeswoman Viktoria Ruban said.
The blast occurred at about 1125 GMT on a section near the Ukrainian capital Kiev, she said.
A 30-metre (32-feet) length of pipeline was torn off, with debris hurled 150 metres away.
There was no immediate information regarding the effect of the incident on deliveries to the European Union, the biggest foreign gas market for Russia, the world's leading natural gas producer.
I’m assuming this was an accident?
Wow these “coincidences” always happen when russia gets angry at someone. What a bunch of paranoid crybabies.
I wonder if it could be related to the huge explosive cache that was found under the Iraqi pipeline in the past few days (posted on freerepublic).
The cabbage was pickled a bit too long..........
“A 30-metre (32-feet) length of pipeline...”
This journalist is obviously a math whiz.
Hey Vlad...how’s that control the energy to control the continent plan of yours working out?
I bet Russia (or the USSR) blames the United States for the “accident”.
Now I feel bad for not catching that.
That doesn’t make any sense. If Russia was angry, they’d just cut off supplies, as they’ve done before. This sounds like the Ukranians playing games with Western Europe’s gas supplies so as to extract more cash.
Sounds like the Ukrainians do not like the way the Russians are doing business. Can’t really say that I blame them. The Russians have been using their regional energy monopoly to extract concessions from its neighbors, its high time that some of them fight back.
FR *bookmark* ,.. { b’cuz I’ll wait for plausible Putinisms }
Last Updated: Monday, 7 May 2007, 15:42 GMT 16:42 UKUkraine gas pipeline hit by blast
A blast has destroyed a section of one of the main gas pipelines in Ukraine exporting Russian gas to Europe, Ukraine's emergencies ministry says.It says about 30m (98ft) of the Urenhoi-Pomary-Uzhhorod pipeline was damaged by the explosion.
Russia's state gas state monopoly Gazprom, which controls the export of all Russian gas, said the blast caused no disruptions in supplies to Europe.
No-one was injured in the explosion, officials in Ukraine said.
The blast happened at 1420 (1120 GMT) near the village of Luka in the Kiev region, Ukraine's emergencies ministry spokesman Ihor Kroll told the BBC.
Mr Kroll said a bypass system was activated, rerouting the flow of gas to Europe.
He said experts were at the site, trying to determine the cause of the blast.
The Urenhoi-Pomary-Uzhhorod is one of three main lines in Ukraine that carry gas to the EU - the biggest gas market for Russia.
Ukraine is a major transit point for Russian gas deliveries to Europe.
J-school standards must be rising.
I had to wonder whether or not it was ethnic Russian separatists. That’s who the SVR would recruit to do their dirty work, assuming they had contemplated something like this.
Russia and the EU... couldn’t have happened to a nicer group of people.
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