Nord Stream 2

The Swedish prosecutor's office has announced the suspension of its investigation into the explosions that severely damaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 underwater gas pipelines, passing on collected materials to German authorities.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday warned that a drop in aid from the United States to Kiev would send a poor message, as U.S. President Joe Biden faces a Republican blockade on further support.

With an eye on U.S. aid potentially diminishing, Zelensky urged Germany to use its economic weight to rally EU partners to give more to Kiev in its fight against Russia.

High levels of gas storage, lower energy prices and new sources of fuel mean Europe is heading into a second winter with scarce Russian gas in a more comfortable position than a year ago.

Day 581 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

After the sabotage of Nord Stream, Hungary and Serbia warned the international community that any endangerment of the gas supply system from the Russian Federation would be considered a casus belli, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated in a conversation with American journalist Tucker Carlson.

Russian gas deliveries via Nord Stream - the main pipeline for gas exports from Russia to Europe - will be temporarily suspended from this morning until July 21 due to planned annual maintenance work on the pipeline. In this way, natural gas from Russia will continue to enter Western and Central Europe through only one transit line through Ukraine.

Angela Merkel said that while she was Chancellor of Germany she made serious efforts to prevent the situation in Ukraine from developing to its current state and said that she does not blame herself of not trying decisively enough to thwart what was happening, Reuters reported.