Vladimir Putin accuses the West of sabotaging Russian gas pipelines

Norwegian researchers published a map projecting that a huge plume of methane released by damaged pipelines will travel over large stretches of the Nordic region

In this picture provided by Swedish Coast Guard, the gas leak in the Baltic Sea from Nord Stream photographed from the Coast Guard’s aircraft on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2022. A fourth leak on the Nord Stream pipelines has been reported off southern Sweden. Earlier, three leaks had been reported on the two underwater pipelines running from Russia to Germany. (Swedish Coast Guard via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of sabotaging Russian-built gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea to Germany, a charge that has been vehemently denied by the US and its allies.

Nordic nations said the undersea blasts that damaged the pipelines this week and led to huge methane leaks involved several hundred pounds of explosives.