Ukraine-Russia: Germany Suspends Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline

FILE - Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 2' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, northern Germany, on Feb. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)

Germany has taken steps to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday, as the West started taking punitive measures against Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.

Scholz said his government made the decision in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's recognition of the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine that he said marked a “serious break of international law.”