Moscow: Germany's response to the North Sea pipeline explosions, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, demonstrated that the nation was still "occupied" and unable to act independently decades after it was forced to surrender at the end of World War Two.

In an interview with Russian television, Putin claimed that European leaders had been coerced into sacrificing their sense of independence and sovereignty.

Germany and other Western nations have reacted cautiously to investigations into the explosions that hit Russia's Nord Stream petrol pipelines last year, stating that they believe the explosions were intentional but refusing to speculate as to who might have been responsible.

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Putin told the state Rossiya-1 TV channel, as quoted by Russian news agencies: "The issue is that European politicians have said themselves publicly that Germany was never a fully sovereign state after World War Two.

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"At one point, the Soviet Union ended what could be considered an occupation of the nation by withdrawing its forces. But, as is well known, the Americans were not like that. They are still in control of Germany.

Putin asserted to the interviewer that the explosions were carried out on a "state level" and scoffed at theories that an unrestrained pro-Ukraine group was behind them.

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Although Berlin has taken steps to lessen its reliance on Russian hydrocarbons since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine a year ago, the pipelines were designed to transport Russian gas to Germany.

When it comes to assigning blame for the explosions, Berlin's leaders have been circumspect. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius suggested last week that the explosions might have been a "false-flag operation to blame Ukraine.