Putin announces the formal annexation of 4 Ukrainian regions to Russia

The Kremlin: the gas leak in Nord Stream is a “terrorist act” under the auspices of the government

The Kremlin announced yesterday that it suspected the "involvement" of a foreign country in the gas leakage from four sites in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea, saying that the accidents in the pipelines appeared to be government-sponsored "terrorist" acts, while NATO condemned "Deliberate and reckless" acts of sabotage in "Nord Stream".

The Kremlin's announcement came with Russian President Vladimir Putin's intention to officially announce the annexation of Ukrainian regions to Russia on Friday.

In detail, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a daily press conference by phone: "This looks like a terrorist act, perhaps at a state level."

"It is very difficult to imagine that such a terrorist act could take place without some form of state involvement... This is a very serious situation that requires an urgent investigation," he added.

The RIA Novosti news agency quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying yesterday that the leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipeline occurred in an area controlled by US intelligence services.

CNN, citing three sources, reported that European security officials had spotted Russian Navy ships and submarines not far from the Nord Stream leak sites.

In response to a request for comment on the CNN report, Peskov said there was a much larger NATO presence in the region.

The European Union is investigating major leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines of Russia's Gazprom, and said it suspected sabotage.

For its part, NATO condemned yesterday the "deliberate, reckless and irresponsible" acts of sabotage committed on the two Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, indicating that it will defend itself against any attacks on its vital facilities.

In Berlin, security expert Johannes Peters of the Institute for Security Policy at Germany's Kiel University said he found it "relatively unlikely" that damage to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines across the Baltic Sea was caused by an accident.

He told ARD's "Morgen Magazine" program that he suspected Russia was behind the alleged act of sabotage.

For his part, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, told a renewable energy conference in Paris, yesterday, that it was “very clear” who was behind the suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline, which caused major leaks in the sea. Baltic.

In Stockholm, the Swedish Coast Guard reported to AFP that a gas leak was detected from a fourth site in the Nord Stream pipeline, which is being subjected to alleged sabotage operations, in the Baltic Sea.

An official in the Swedish authority told AFP: "There is a leak from two sites on the Swedish side and a leak from two sites on the Danish side," noting that the two leaks from the Swedish side took place "close to each other."

On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to officially announce the annexation of Ukrainian regions to Russia on Friday, according to the Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday.

"Today, Friday, a ceremony will be held in the Grand Kremlin Palace, a ceremony for the signing of agreements on the accession of new regions to the Russian Federation," the Interfax news agency quoted Peskov as saying.

Peskov added that the ceremony will take place at 1500 Moscow time (1200 GMT), today, Friday, to sign "agreements for the accession of new territories to the Russian Federation."

Peskov said the agreements would be signed "with all the four regions that held referendums and submitted demands in this regard to the Russian side."

The Kremlin said that after the signing ceremony in the Kremlin, Putin will deliver a speech and meet with officials appointed by Moscow in the Ukrainian regions.

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