Huge Explosions Preceded Nord Stream Pipeline Leaks In Baltic Sea, Sweden, Denmark Tell UN.

A gas leak from Nord Stream 1 is seen in the Swedish economic zone of the Baltic Sea on September 28.

U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time on September 30 that the explosions that rocked the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic Sea were the result of sabotage.

Biden also said the Russians have been "pumping out disinformation and lies" and the United States will work with its allies to investigate the explosions. Speaking to reporters at the White House, he added that "when things calm down, we're going to be sending divers down to find out exactly what happened."

The United States is already working with allies to "enhance the protection of this critical infrastructure," he added.

The German Interior Ministry said police were patrolling the North and Baltic Seas with "all available forces."

The explosions that occurred ahead of huge gas leaks from the pipelines "probably corresponded to an explosive load of several hundred kilos," Denmark and Sweden wrote earlier on September 30 in a letter to the United Nations.

The blasts resulted in four leaks and the venting of methane gas into the sea. Two of the leaks are in Danish territory; the other two are in Swedish territory.

In the letter to the UN Security Council, the two countries noted that the gas plumes are disrupting air and sea vessels and could be dangerous to marine life. Additionally, a greenhouse gas is being released into the environment. The leaks could continue through at least October 2.

Norwegian researchers on September 30 published a map projecting a huge plume of methane released by the damaged Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that will travel over large swaths of the Nordic region.

Moscow has requested an emergency meeting at the UN Security Council to discuss the pipelines and called for a thorough international probe to assess the damage to the pipelines.

Russia cut natural gas supplies to Europe after Western sanctions were imposed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February. The pipelines were not operating at the time of the blasts, but they contained methane gas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 30 accused the West of orchestrating the blasts.

"By organizing explosions on the Nord Stream international gas pipelines that run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea they actually started destroying European energy infrastructure," Putin said during a televised speech at a Kremlin ceremony at which he signed decrees that the Kremlin calls "accession treaties" to formally seize four Ukrainian territories.

Putin claimed that the "Anglo-Saxons" in the West have turned from sanctions on Russia to "terror attacks," sabotaging the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in what he described as an attempt to "destroy the European energy infrastructure."

He added that "those who profit from it have done it" without naming a specific country.

European nations, which are already reeling from soaring energy prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have noted that it is Russia that benefits from chaos on energy markets and spiking prices.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price strongly rejected any claims that the United States might have sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines.

"The idea that the United States was in any way involved in the apparent sabotage of these pipelines is preposterous. It is nothing more than a function of Russian disinformation and should be treated as such," Price said on September 28.

The European Union and NATO have said the leaks are the result of sabotage but have stopped short of pointing fingers.

However, Ukraine and Poland have accused Russia of being behind the ruptures.

With reporting by AP and dpa