WASHINGTON, Dec 23 - The United States is preparing a set of new devastating sanctions that would permanently stop construction of Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the coming weeks, Reuters reported Wednesday citing senior Trump administration officials.

The Trump administration is readying a fresh round of congressionally mandated sanctions “in the very near future” that it believes could deal a fatal blow to the Russia-to-Germany project led by state gas company Gazprom, three officials said.

“We’ve been getting body blow on body blow to this, and now we’re in the process of driving a stake through the project heart,” said one of the officials, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity.

Nord Stream 2 poses a major threat to Ukraine as Russia would be able to divert its gas supplies to Germany away from Ukrainian pipelines, eliminating up to $2 billion/year in revenue from gas transit. The move would significantly weaken Ukraine’s ability to finance its armed forces and fight against Moscow-backed separatists in Donbas.

Russia this month resumed building the $11.6 billion pipeline, which is 90% complete, after a one-year pause prompted by existing U.S. sanctions.

New work has been centered on a 2.6 kilometer stretch in shallow waters of Germany’s Exclusive Economic Zone but not yet in the deep-water sections off Denmark that comprise most of the unfinished 100-km stretch.

Washington says the project, which will increase European reliance on Russian gas, will compromise European energy security. Russia says the sanctions amount to “unfair competition” aimed at helping U.S. liquefied natural gas producers, and insists it will finish the pipeline.

The feud may not die down once President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Jan. 20, foreign diplomats say.

The U.S. pressure campaign on Nord Stream 2 is backed by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers who fear it will bypass Ukraine, robbing it of lucrative transit fees. Biden described the pipeline as a “bad deal” for Europe in 2016, and has criticized Moscow for its alleged role in a massive cyber attack on U.S. government agencies that was discovered last week.

Nord Stream 2 did not immediately comment on the possibility of new sanctions. Last month it told Reuters that existing sanctions and new ones in the defense policy bill would, if imposed, directly or indirectly hit more than 120 companies from more than 12 European countries. (rt/ez)