Ukraine Warupdated 1h ago3 min read
Ukrainian Ex-Officer Serhii K. Goes On Trial In Germany Over Nord Stream Blasts
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Serhii Kuznetsov, a Ukrainian former officer, accused of coordinating Nord Stream sabotage. Trial opened at Hamburg's Higher Regional Court on Oct 14, 2026.
Trial in Hamburg
A Ukrainian former military officer is standing trial in Germany accused of organizing the secret operation that blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, with the trial opening at the Hamburg Higher Regional Court and expected to run into February next year. German prosecutors say the defendant, identified under German privacy rules as Serhii K., is accused of leading a group of Ukrainian agents including divers and an explosives expert, and they allege the group traveled to Germany through Poland on a forged Ukrainian passport about three weeks before the attack. German prosecutors say the group used a sailboat hired in the northern city of Rostock to reach an area near the Danish island of Bornholm, where they attached military-grade explosives with timers to the pipelines on the seabed.
Swedish seismologists detected several blasts on September 26, 2022, some 17 hours apart, and three of the four concrete-coated steel pipelines ruptured, sending huge plumes of methane into the atmosphere. The prosecution frames the sabotage as a war crime, and the defendant denies any involvement while Ukraine’s government denies any involvement.
Competing narratives
Russia said on Monday it expected a “just verdict” naming the perpetrators and those who ordered the operation, as the Nord Stream case strained ties between Berlin and Kyiv even as Germany remained one of Ukraine’s strongest backers. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied Kyiv’s involvement, saying the government has officially never taken part in any operation related to the Nord Stream blast, while German prosecutors allege the saboteurs conceived the plot “acting by order of Ukrainian state agencies.” Stefan Meister, of the German Council on Foreign Relations, told RFE/RL that the crucial question was “How much came from the top of the Ukrainian political system or how much was prepared by some insiders in the intelligence service?”
Jes Meyer-Lohkamp, the defendant’s German lawyer, said prosecutors “have not provided any direct, conclusive evidence of our client's involvement” and that the German court will have to determine whether Nord Stream was actually a legitimate military target. The BBC described the case as highly sensitive in Germany because it is seen as one of Ukraine’s closest allies since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
What is at stake
The trial is positioned as the first public hearing of the evidence in a years-long investigation, and it is expected to run into February next year at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg. German prosecutors accuse the defendant of being an accomplice to a war crime involving attacks on civilian targets, detonating explosives, destruction of infrastructure and disruption of a public service, and they say the objective was to permanently halt gas deliveries and prevent Russia from using the revenues to finance its war against Ukraine. The indictment also alleges that the group planted explosive devices in the gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 near the island of Bornholm in September 2022, and it frames the sabotage as undermining Germany’s internal security.
The case is also feeding into disputes in Germany about ongoing support for Ukraine, and DW reported that critics want Germany to resume energy deliveries from Russia, including via a repaired Nord Stream pipeline. The BBC reported that Oleksandr Merezhko said the blasts took place during a time of war with Russia and that “Nord Stream 2 was nothing but a tool used by Russia in order to get prepared for the war,” while Stefan Meister argued Germany tried to “depoliticise” the case.