Once a symbol of European unity, the Nord Stream investigation has become a mirror of its divisions. Between American power, Ukrainian intrigue, and Polish opacity, Europe’s search for truth now risks becoming another casualty of the energy war.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen swore the EU would deliver “the strongest possible response.” A Ukrainian presidential adviser called it “a terrorist attack planned by Russia.”

Three years later, the tone has shifted. Russia is no longer a formal suspect. Western capitals have quietly shelved their initial fury, and the investigation—once the symbol of European resolve—has turned murky, mired in secrecy, competing narratives, and above all, Poland’s curious obstructionism.

An explosion that reshaped Europe’s energy map

Nord Stream I and II were monumental in scale: two twin pipelines stretching 1,200 kilometres from Russia’s Vyborg to Germany’s Greifswald. Built by a consortium led by Gazprom (51 percent) alongside Germany’s Wintershall Dea and E.ON, France’s Engie, and the Netherlands’ Gasunie, the project was meant to secure cheap Russian gas for Europe’s powerhouse economies, Germany in first place.

When the pipelines were blown up on 26 September 2022, three of their four lines were rendered inoperable. The explosion did not just sever a physical link: it symbolically ended Europe’s energy dependence on Moscow. Within months, gas prices soared, German industry reeled, and Poland, long opposed to the project, emerged oddly triumphant.

“Thank you, USA”—Poland’s celebratory tone

Hours after the sabotage, Poland’s former foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, posted a photo of the gas leaks on X (then Twitter) with a caption that read simply, “Thank you, USA.” The message—later deleted—wasn’t a slip of the tongue. It reflected years of Polish opposition to Nord Stream, seen in Warsaw as a modern-day Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Berlin and Moscow.

U.S. President Joe Biden promised, in February 2022, that if Russia invaded Ukraine, “there........

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