On Wednesday, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a report saying that, during NATO Baltops exercises in the summer of 2022, US Navy divers planted explosives to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines, which Norway activated three months later. According to the report, US President Joe Biden decided to sabotage the Nord Streams after more than nine months of secret discussions with the national security team. A US Defense Department spokesperson told Sputnik that the US was not involved in the blowing up of Russian export gas pipelines.
"While the German government calls for transatlantic friendship, and also follows the US without criticism, the US government ensures the blowing up of the Nord Stream pipelines, which was carefully investigated by Pulitzer Prize winner Hersh. Whose interests does the federal government actually represent?" Wagenknecht tweeted.
The blasts occurred on September 26, 2022 at three of the four strings of Nord Stream 1 and 2 underwater pipelines. The incidents halted gas deliveries to Germany ahead of the cold season, prompting a gas price hike and a scramble for alternative sources in the European Union.
Germany, Denmark, and Sweden launched separate investigations into the suspected sabotage, with German media reporting trust issues among the three EU nations. The Russian chief prosecutor's office said it had opened an inquiry into possible international terrorism.