Russia Summons US Ambassador To Answer Nord Stream Allegations

Moscow has continued to ratchet up rhetoric following Russian President Vladimir Putin's address to Russian Federal Assembly this morning, and ahead of President Joe Biden's speech in Warsaw, as both leaders attempt to control the war narrative ahead of the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

• According to Russian news service Tass, Russia has summoned US Ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, to answer allegations that President Biden ordered the destruction of the two Russian Nord Stream gas pipelines.
• Allegations were made by US journalist Seymour Hersh in a widely shared blog post earlier this month suggesting that the Nord Stream pipelines were targeted by a joint US-Norwegian operation planned in advance of the explosions to curb Russia influence over European energy markets.
• The allegations were dismissed the White House as "fiction" and subsequently criticised by journalists with expertise in the field for a lack of sourcing and logical inconsistencies.
• The Kremlin has shared Hersh's article as evidence that the US fails to adhere to international norms, part of a broader Russian accusation that Western imperialism compelled the "special military operation" in Ukraine.