Russia requests UN Security Council meeting on Nord Stream sabotage

Moscow says a German-led probe has faced delays and lacks transparency

Russia has requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting following the arrest of a Ukrainian man in Italy, allegedly involved in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea in September 2022.

Explosions measuring 2.1 and 2.3 on the Richter scale ruptured lines laid to carry Russian gas to direct Germany, one of which was loaded. Moscow has repeatedly accused Germany and neighboring countries of delaying the investigation and excluding Russia from the probe.

“We will highlight the delays in the German investigation and the absence of transparency,” Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyansky wrote on Telegram. He added that the meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.

On Thursday, Italian police detained a Ukrainian citizen, later identified in the media as former military officer Sergey Kuznetsov. Prosecutors allege he coordinated a team that rented a yacht and planted explosives on the pipelines using commercial diving gear.

German investigators reportedly believe a small group of Ukrainians was behind the attack, a claim Moscow dismissed as “ridiculous.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested the US likely orchestrated the sabotage. Last year, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service claimed it had “credible information” that US and British agents were involved in the plot.

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