Nord Stream

The twin subsea gas pipelines from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, opened from 2011 and wrecked by explosions in 2022.

Overview

Nord Stream 1 began delivering Russian gas from near Vyborg to Lubmin in Germany in 2011, with the second line following in 2012, bypassing transit countries such as Ukraine and Poland. The parallel Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021 but never certified, and Germany halted approval after Russia recognized breakaway regions of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia cut flows through Nord Stream 1 later that year. In September 2022 underwater explosions ruptured three of the four lines. The sabotage became the subject of several national investigations, and the pipelines came to symbolize the end of the European bet on Russian gas.