UN Security Council won't look into explosions at Nord Stream

The UN Security Council on Monday declined a Russian request to investigate the blasts on two pipelines that move natural gas from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea. Russia, China and Brazil voted in favor of the Russian request, but other Security Council members abstained or said another investigation was unnecessary. The US deputy ambassador, Robert Wood, said there was no need for a UN probe when investigations by Sweden, Denmark and Germany were proceeding in a comprehensive, transparent and impartial manner. The pipelines, known as Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, are majority-owned by Russia's state-run energy giant Gazprom and bypass existing routes that go through Ukraine, meaning that Ukraine could lose income from transit fees and be unable to directly use the gas they carry. Some have said the blasts caused the worst release of methane in history. Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed as "sheer nonsense" allegations that Ukrainians could have been behind the blasts and pointed the finger at the US.