Obviously there is no way to know for sure, but I have a very hard time believing Russia is behind it. Russia controls the flow of gas, they can simply turn it

Obviously there is no way to know for sure, but I have a very hard time believing Russia is behind it. Russia controls the flow of gas, they can simply turn it off whenever they wish - they have no need to blow up their own pipeline. Russia has spent many years and many billions of dollars constructing these pipelines. They want the power to use their control over the supply of natural gas as leverage and negotiation power over EU countries. Destroying this pipeline removes this leverage and lessens the capability of Russia to pressure the EU with gas restrictions. On the other hand, NATO/US officials have been openly stating their opposition to the Nordstream pipeline even before the recent invasion of Ukraine. It is entirely consistent with the desires of NATO/US officials who seek to drive a wedge between Europe and Russia to destroy the pipeline and eliminate any chance of some sort of negotiated settlement between Germany and Russia as the cold of winter sets in. Unfortunately, barring the emergence of a whistleblower, we will likely never know the truth, as whoever is responsible for this bombing will never openly admit it. Even more unfortunately, mindless partisans will reflexively point their finger at whoever their chosen propaganda outlets claim (without any evidence whatsoever) is responsible for this bombing, and use those accusations to further escalate hostilities.