Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the Nord Stream pipelines were likely blown up by the US.
"The fact that Europe is not getting enough [gas] is its problem. Strangely enough, they tried to blame us for not selling something. This is complete nonsense, because we did not close the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline in Poland, we did not close the second line of the gas pipeline through the territory of Ukraine, Ukraine did it. We did not blow up Nord Stream 1 and partially Nord Stream 2. Most likely, the US did it, or someone did it at their suggestion," Putin said during the joint "Direct Line" Q&A session and annual press conference.
The Nord Stream pipelines, built to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to the European Union, were hit by explosions in September 2022. All three affected pipes were rendered inoperable.
Denmark, Germany and Norway have left Russia out of their investigations into the attacks, prompting Moscow to launch its own investigation. Russia designated the attacks as acts of international terrorism.
No official results of the investigations have yet been announced, but Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a report in February 2023, saying the explosions were organized by the US government with the support of the authorities in Norway. Washington has denied any involvement in the attack. The White House feared Germany would allow cheap Russian gas to flow to Europe, making all of NATO fall under Moscow's influence, Hersh said.