Ukrainian accused of Nord Stream pipeline sabotage goes on trial in Germany

A Ukrainian man, identified as 50-year-old Serhiy Kuznetsov, has gone on trial in Germany for war crimes. The trial, which opened on Wednesday at the Higher Regional Court in Hamburg, is the first involving an alleged perpetrator of the 2022 attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Kuznetsov is accused of helping to mastermind these attacks. His defense team has called for the case to be dismissed. The proceedings are attracting significant international media attention.

A Ukrainian soldier, Serhii Kuznetsov, is set to go on trial in Hamburg, Germany, accused of involvement in the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Prosecutors allege Kuznetsov, a special forces officer, acted as an accomplice to war crimes by attacking civilian infrastructure, causing explosions, damaging property, and disrupting public services. The indictment claims he prepared and detonated incendiary devices using a rented yacht and timer-controlled explosives, with six alleged accomplices. Both Kuznetsov and Ukraine deny any involvement in the attacks, which occurred in September 2022, severely damaging the pipelines. German prosecutors believe Ukrainian state authorities ordered the attack to halt gas supplies and prevent Russia from financing its war effort. Kuznetsov was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and extradited to Germany.

A former Ukrainian military officer, identified as Serhii K., is on trial in Germany for allegedly organizing the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions. The trial, which began in Hamburg and is expected to continue into February, marks the first public hearing of evidence in the investigation. Prosecutors accuse Serhii K., a trained scuba diver, of leading a group of Ukrainian agents to attach explosives to the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm, acting on behalf of unidentified Ukrainian state entities. He denies all involvement. German prosecutors consider the sabotage of civilian infrastructure a potential war crime. The blasts significantly disrupted Western Europe's supply of Russian natural gas.

A Ukrainian national, identified as Serhii K, is on trial in Germany accused of involvement in a plot to destroy the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022. German prosecutors allege he was a serving Ukrainian army officer who led a team of divers, a boat captain, and an explosives expert. He was arrested in Italy in August 2025 under a European arrest warrant and extradited to Germany late last year. The case has revealed differing perspectives, with a Ukrainian parliamentary committee chair suggesting the blasts occurred during wartime and that Nord Stream 2 was a Russian tool for war preparation, questioning the German account. German officials, however, have reportedly sought to depoliticize the investigation, leaving it to judicial institutions.