Russia puts Nord Stream gas pipe to full halt

Russia’s energy monopoly Gazprom has suspended operations at its Nord Stream gas pipeline for an indefinite period, citing malfunctions in their only working turbine at the route, allegedly exposed during maintenance works.

This was reported by Gazprom's press service via Telegram, according to Ukrinform.

An oil leak was detected during scheduled maintenance of a gas pumping unit at the "Portovaya" compressor station, the report says. The Rostechnadzor watchdog has warned the corporation that such malfunctions do not allow for the safe operation of the gas turbine engine.

According to Gazprom, it will only be possible to eliminate the leak by “a specialized repair company.” “Gas transmission via the Nord Stream gas pipeline has been completely stopped until the issues with the equipment operation are eliminated," Gazprom said in the statement.

The company also published a photo of one of the leaks allegedly discovered during scheduled maintenance.

As reported earlier, after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, in the wake of the assistance being provided by democracies to Ukraine, Russia is provoking an energy crisis in Europe. Over the summer, under various pretexts, Gazprom reduced supplies via Nord Stream. On July 15, gas flows were reduced to 60% of the scheduled rate, before slumping down by 20%.

On February 24, the Russian Federation began a new stage of its war against Ukraine – a full-scale invasion. Russian troops have been shelling and bombarding Ukraine’s cities and villages, killing the civilian population.