Gazprom said supplies via Nord Stream 1 were "completely stopped" for "preventative work" at a compressor unit, shortly after the the pipeline's operator, ENTSOG, announced that deliveries had stopped.
The move comes as European countries have faced soaring energy prices since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February and subsequently curbed its gas deliveries to the region.
Germany, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas, has accused Moscow of using energy as a "weapon".
But Gazprom has said the three-day maintenance work was "necessary" and had to be be carried out after "every 1,000 hours of operation".
Germany's Federal Network Agency chief Klaus MĂĽller has called it a "technically incomprehensible" decision, warning that it was likely justt a pretext by Moscow to wield energy supplies as a threat.
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Experience shows that Moscow "makes a political decision after every so-called maintenance", he said, adding that "we'll only know at the beginning of September if Russia does that again".
'Much better position'
With winter around the corner, European consumers are staring down the barrel of huge power bills. Some countries like France have warned that rationing is a possibility.
The European Union is preparing to take emergency action to reform the electricity market in order to bring galloping prices under control, with energy ministers scheduled to hold extraordinary talks next week.
Asked if gas supplies would resume after the three-day works were completed on Saturday, Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "there is a guarantee that, apart from technical problems caused by sanctions, nothing interferes with supplies".
Western capitals "have imposed sanctions against Russia, which do not allow for normal maintenance, repair work", he added, in what appeared to hint at a replay of an earlier round of start-stop rigmarole.
Gazprom had already carried out 10 days of long-scheduled maintenance works in July. While it restored gas flows following the works, it drastically dwindled supplies just days later, claiming a technical issue on a turbine.
The Russian company insists that a key turbine could not be sent to Russia because of sanctions on Moscow. But Germany, where the turbine was located, has said Moscow was itself in fact blocking the turbine's delivery to Russia.
"In July, it was regular maintenance planned for a long time by Nord Stream 1, this time it was not planned and we don't know what is behind this operation," the official said on condition of anonymity.
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