“PERN emergency services and the state fire service immediately went to the scene to assess the situation, secure the area and start rescue operations,” PERN said.
PERN spokeswoman Katarzyna Krasinska was quoted by PAP news agency as saying that the pipeline was mainly supplying two refineries in Schwedt and Spergau in Germany.
The Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline network was started in the 1960s and now covers 5,500 kilometres, pumping oil from the Urals to Europe through two main branches via Belarus and Ukraine.
The leak on the Druzhba pipeline comes after four leaks were discovered in the undersea Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Germany.
The pipelines have been at the centre of geopolitical tensions as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
NATO on Tuesday said the alliance had bolstered naval deployments to protect its infrastructure in the Baltic and North Seas, saying the Nord Stream leaks were an act of “sabotage”.
G7 leaders also on Tuesday said in a statement they were “deeply troubled” and “strongly condemn any deliberate disruption of critical infrastructure”.
