What is Nord Stream 1 pipeline, and why is it critical for Europe?

Nord Stream 1 is the biggest pipeline transporting cheap natural gas between Russia and Europe via Germany

Russia, on Wednesday, halted gas supplies for three days to Europe via Nord Stream 1, citing maintenance issues. Gazprom, the Russian state energy company, has said there would be no gas supply to Germany until September 3.

"Gas supplies via the Nord Stream gas pipeline will be suspended during the three-day (August 31 to September 2, 2022) maintenance of the Trent 60 DLE gas compressor unit," the company had said on August 19. in a statement. The maintenance will be done by Gazprom jointly with Siemens.

In July, it was shut down for ten days for annual maintenance. The maintenance