The United States should try to prove it was not behind the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipelines that connected Russia to Western Europe, the Russian embassy to the United States said on Thursday.
Moscow considers the destruction of Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines last September “an act of international terrorism” and will not allow it to be swept under the rug, the embassy said in a statement.
The embassy referred to a blog post by journalist Seymour Hersh citing an unidentified source as saying that US Navy divers had destroyed the pipelines with explosives on the orders of President Joe Biden.
The White House has dismissed the allegations as “utterly false and complete fiction.”
US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday “it is pure disinformation that the United States was behind what transpired” with Nord Stream, provoking the fresh Russian comment.
Four large gas leaks were discovered on Nord Stream’s two pipelines off the Danish island of Bornholm at the end of September, with seismic institutes recording two underwater explosions just prior.
Investigators had already said that preliminary inspections had reinforced suspicions of sabotage.
While the leaks were in international waters, two of them were in the Danish exclusive economic zone and two of them in Sweden’s.
At the end of October, Nord Stream sent a Russian-flagged civilian vessel to inspect the damage in the Swedish zone.
The pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany, have been at the center of geopolitical tensions as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation to Western sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Although the pipelines were not in operation when the leaks occurred, they both still contained gas which spewed up through the water and into the atmosphere.
Washington and Moscow have both denied any involvement and each has pointed the finger at the other.
Russia says US should prove it did not destroy Nord Stream, after reports
https://arab.news/w2bf8
Russia says US should prove it did not destroy Nord Stream, after reports
NASA astronaut stuck in space for nine months retires
- Suni Williams stepped down from her post on December 27 — making her ill-fated mission her last journey to space
- During her career, Williams logged 608 days in space — the second most cumulative time in space by a NASA astronaut
WASHINGTON, United States: A NASA astronaut who was stuck in space for nine months because of problems with her spacecraft has retired after 27 years of service, the space agency said Tuesday.
Suni Williams stepped down from her post on December 27 — making her ill-fated mission her last journey to space.
Williams and fellow astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore set out on an eight-day mission in June 2024 to test fly Boeing’s new Starliner capsule on its first crewed mission when they were unexpectedly marooned.
Despite the incident, Williams on Tuesday called her time with NASA “an incredible honor.”
“Anyone who knows me knows that space is my absolute favorite place to be,” she said in a statement.
Boeing’s new Starliner developed propulsion issues while Williams and Wilmore were traveling to the International Space Station (ISS) and it was deemed unfit to fly back.
The technical problems prompted NASA to entrust the return of their astronauts to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, snubbing Boeing.
The two veteran astronauts finally returned safely back to Earth with SpaceX in March 2025. Wilmore announced his retirement in August that same year.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement on Tuesday that Williams had been a “trailblazer in human spaceflight,” adding that she shaped the “future of exploration through her leadership aboard the space station” and paved the way for commercial missions to low Earth orbit.
During her career, Williams logged 608 days in space — the second most cumulative time in space by a NASA astronaut, the agency said.
She also ranks sixth on the list of longest single spaceflights by an American due to the Starliner incident, NASA added.
Williams has completed nine spacewalks totaling 62 hours, the most spacewalk time by a woman and fourth-most on the all-time cumulative spacewalk duration list.
