The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, denounced Wednesday, September 28 the “
referendums
” of annexation organized by Moscow in Ukrainian regions, qualifying them as “
illegal
” polls with “
manipulated
” results.
"
This is yet another violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, in a context of systematic human rights violations
," he wrote on Twitter.
“
We salute the courage of the Ukrainians, who continue to oppose and resist the Russian invasion
,” he added.
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The European Union warned on Wednesday against any attack on its energy infrastructure in a statement issued by the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell.
“
Any deliberate disruption of Europe's energy infrastructure is completely unacceptable and will be met with a strong and united response
,” said Josep Borrell, speaking on behalf of the 27 EU Member States.
"
All available information indicates that the leaks (noted on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea) are the result of a deliberate act
", he underlined.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had already mentioned Tuesday evening "
an act of sabotage
" after meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
"
These incidents are not a coincidence and affect us all
," said Josep Borrell.
"
We will support any investigation to shed light on what happened and why, and we will take additional steps to increase our energy security resilience
," he said.
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also expressed concern about leaks on the two gas pipelines.
He will meet Danish Defense Minister Morten Bødskov on Wednesday to be briefed on the situation, the Alliance said.
The damage caused to the two Nord Stream gas pipelines was observed on the day of the inauguration of a gas pipeline between Norway and Poland, the Baltic Pipe, with a capacity of 10 billion m3 of gas per year, built to reduce the dependence of Europeans on Russian gas.