LONDON: Nord Stream is seeking more than 400 million euros ($436 million) from its insurers over explosions in 2022 which ruptured pipelines designed to transport Russian gas to Germany, court filings show.
Nord Stream AG names Lloyd’s Insurance Company and Arch Insurance (EU) DAC as defendants in its lawsuit, which was filed at London’s High Court last month.
Switzerland-based Nord Stream confirmed in an email there is a contractual dispute in London commercial courts between itself and insurers of the pipeline system.
“However, we ask for understanding that we are not in a position to provide any detailed comments to the legal proceedings,” Nord Stream’s communications team said.
Court filings state that Nord Stream’s current preliminary estimate of “the costs to dewater and stabilize the pipeline, to undertake a full repair and to replace the lost gas inventory” is between 1.2 billion and 1.35 billion euros.
Nord Stream’s lawsuit also says one of the pipelines looked “mangled and deformed” in one area where it had been damaged, but “appeared smooth and to have been cut” in another.
Lloyd’s declined to comment. Arch did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit focuses on the explosions in September 2022 that ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines. Sweden – which last month dropped its investigation – and Germany have both found traces of explosives relating to the incident, suggesting it was a deliberate act.
Russia and the West, at loggerheads over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, have pointed fingers at one another. Each has denied any involvement, and no one has taken responsibility.
Nord Stream in its lawsuit is suing all insurers subscribing to its offshore operating all-risks policy as well as its excess all-risks policy.
According to court documents, Nord Stream is suing Lloyd’s on its own behalf and as the representative of others subscribing to policies issued by insurers including Munich Re, which declined to comment.
Nord Stream sues insurers in London over 2022 pipeline blasts
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Nord Stream sues insurers in London over 2022 pipeline blasts
- Nord Stream AG names Lloyd’s Insurance Company and Arch Insurance (EU) DAC as defendants in its lawsuit
- Nord Stream’s lawsuit also says one of the pipelines looked “mangled and deformed” in one area where it had been damaged
Russia committed ‘crimes against humanity’ in deporting Ukrainian children: UN inquiry
- The inquiry said Russia had deported or transferred “thousands” of children from occupied areas of Ukraine, of which it had so far confirmed 1,205 cases
- “Four years on, 80 percent of the children deported or transferred in the cases investigated by the commission have not returned,” it said
GENEVA: Moscow’s deportation and forcible transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia amounts to a crime against humanity, a United Nations team of investigators said Tuesday.
The UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said it had collected evidence leading it to conclude that “Russian authorities have committed the crimes against humanity of deportation and forcible transfer, as well as of enforced disappearance of children.”
The probe was established by the UN Human Rights Council shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The inquiry said Russia had deported or transferred “thousands” of children from occupied areas of Ukraine, of which it had so far confirmed 1,205 cases.
“Four years on, 80 percent of the children deported or transferred in the cases investigated by the commission have not returned,” it said.
Moscow has failed to establish a system facilitating returns, and has instead focused on long-term placement of the children with families or institutions in Russia, while relatives were not informed of their fate.
The commission confirmed its previous finding that Russian authorities had unlawfully deported and transferred children — as a war crime — “and that they have unjustifiably delayed their repatriation, which is also a war crime.”
These measures “were not guided by the best interests of the child,” and have violated international law, the probe found.
- Putin cited -
It said the involvement of Russian President Vladimir Putin, “including through his direct authority over entities that have steered and executed this policy, has been visible from the outset.”
In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued a war crimes arrest warrant against Putin, accusing him of “unlawfully deporting” Ukrainian children.
The issue is highly sensitive in Ukraine and remains central to negotiations for a potential peace agreement between Kyiv and Moscow.
According to Kyiv, nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly removed since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Russia insists it has moved some Ukrainian children from their homes or orphanages to protect them from hostilities.
As for Russian trials in the context of its invasion of Ukraine, the commission found that Russian authorities have “systematically fabricated evidence” and “systematically violated a range of fair trial guarantees,” while judges “have not acted with independence and impartiality.”
- ‘Extreme violence’ -
The commission also probed the situation of nationals from 17 countries who were recruited — either voluntarily or through deception — to fight with Russian troops in Ukraine.
They included men from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Brazil, Cuba, Egypt, Ghana, India, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nepal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkiye and Yemen.
“After training, usually lasting between one week and 30 days, they were forced to serve on frontlines in Ukraine, often assigned extremely dangerous duties,” the commission said in its report.
Commanders arbitrarily imposed “extreme violence” as punishment for refusing orders that meant almost certain death, with soldiers describing being treated like “cannon fodder,” sent on “meat assaults” without training or necessary equipment, and “forced to advance at all costs.”
“The evidence collected demonstrates abusive behavior, cruelty, humiliation, inhuman treatment, and a total disregard for human life and dignity, perpetrated with a sense of impunity,” the report said.
Regarding Ukraine, the report voiced concern about the overly broad definition and sometimes distorted interpretation of the crime of “collaboration.”
The commission also said reports regarding violent treatment of conscientious objectors during Ukrainian mobilization were “a source of concern.”
The report will be presented at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday.
Moscow does not recognize the commission and does not answer its requests for access, information and meetings.
