A far-right German party has urged the United Nations to investigate the “involvement” of Germany’s government in the 2022 explosions of the underwater Nord Stream pipelines, which transferred Russian gas to Europe.

Tino Chrupalla, co-chair of Alternative for Germany (AfD), said, “We believe that the incident needs to be thoroughly investigated, and those responsible must be held accountable.” 

“In particular, we need to find out if members of the German government were aware of this incident before or after it occurred,” Chrupalla noted.

“We have called for the establishment of an inquiry commission in the European Parliament and are now calling for a UN investigation.”

On September 26, 2022, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines lost pressure abruptly following a series of powerful underwater explosions near a Danish island in the Baltic Sea that is surrounded by Sweden, Germany, and Poland.

Parts of the pipeline either went missing or ended up buried in the seabed following the blasts.

According to investigations conducted by German, Danish, and Swedish authorities, the leaks in the pipelines that caused the blasts were caused by explosives.

A month after the incidents, the Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the “truth” behind the explosions would “surprise” many Europeans if it was to be made public.

The Nord Stream pipelines had been at the center of political tensions even before the blasts as Russia cut natural gas supplies to Europe over sanctions for the Ukraine war.

In November 2023, a joint investigation carried out by The Washington Post newspaper and German magazine Der Spiegel said a Ukrainian Special Operations Forces officer had led the blasts.

Roman Chervinsky, as the officer was named, directed a six-strong sabotage team that rented a boat and used diving equipment to place explosives on the pipelines, according to the probe.

Russia, for its part, has accused the United States of being behind the incidents, saying the European investigations were aimed at protecting Washington. Russia has also denounced Western countries for refusing to cooperate with Moscow’s probe into the explosions.