The Danish Energy Agency announced that it had recovered a cylindrical object spotted near the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that was sabotaged last September, noting that this object is a smoke buoy.

"The body was recovered with the participation of a representative of the owner company Nord Stream 2 AG," of which Russia's Gazprom is the largest shareholder, and the recovery operation was carried out under the supervision of the Ministry of Defense on Tuesday at a depth of 73 meters.

"Investigations indicate that the object is an empty smoke buoy used for visual marking," the statement said.

Cylindrical object found near the site of the Nord Stream 2 tube explosion (Reuters)

Two weeks ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin himself revealed that the object, which was spotted by Gazprom, did not pose any security risk, pointing to a possible role in the sabotage.

The Russian president told Russian Channel 24 on the day: "Experts believe that it may be an antenna to pick up a signal to activate an explosive device that can be placed in this part of the gas pipeline."

Six months after the bombings hit the Nord Stream 6 and 1 gas pipelines, responsibility for the attacks remains unclear despite criminal investigations in countries in the region (Germany, Sweden and Denmark).

Germany announced in early March that it had opened an investigation into a boat suspected of transporting explosives to the site, but was unable to draw conclusions about the identity of the perpetrator.

In a recent article, US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh noted that US Navy divers, with the help of Norway, planted explosives in June that were detonated three months later, which Washington criticized as "completely false."

The New York Times reported that a "pro-Ukrainian group" was involved in the bombing but without the knowledge of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Kiev denied the accusations.

On Monday, the Security Council rejected a draft resolution submitted by Russia calling for the establishment of an "independent international commission of inquiry" into the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines.

The draft resolution called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to establish the commission to "conduct a thorough, transparent and impartial international investigation into all aspects of the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, including the identification of perpetrators, planners, organizers and accomplices."

Russia justified its request by asserting that it had been excluded from investigations by Sweden, Germany and Denmark, although Stockholm, Berlin and Copenhagen rejected the Russian accusation.