A Ukrainian soldier went on trial in Hamburg on Wednesday accused of taking part in the September 2022 attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines running between Russia and Germany.
Serhii Kuznetsov, a special forces officer from the Ukrainian military, faces prosecution by state authorities. Prosecutors accuse him of being an accomplice to war crimes by attacking civilian infrastructure, causing an explosion, damaging property, and disrupting public services.
German privacy laws require that the defendant be identified as Serhii K during the proceedings, but an extradition order referenced him by his full name.
Investigators allege he prepared and carried out the detonation of at least four incendiary devices weighing up to 27kg. The devices were placed at a depth of about 80 metres under the Baltic Sea, close to the Danish island of Bornholm.
Authorities believe he acted alongside six accomplices. This alleged group included four deep-sea divers, an explosives expert, and a ship’s captain, who prosecutors say used a rented yacht and timer-controlled explosives.
Both Kuznetsov and his home country deny any involvement in the attacks. The explosions occurred on 26 September 2022, severely damaging pipelines designed to carry Russian natural gas between Vyborg in western Russia and Lubmin near Greifswald in northern Germany.
The blasts ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipelines, which served as Russia’s main gas supply route to Germany before Moscow cut supplies in August 2022. They also damaged Nord Stream 2, a line that was ready for operation but never authorized after Germany suspended its approval process prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Kuznetsov was arrested in August while on a family holiday in Italy, traveling on a false passport. Italian police reported that he surrendered without resistance. He was extradited to Germany in November after legal challenges failed.
Another suspect, Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, was arrested on a European warrant in northern Croatia in August. He is fighting extradition after applying for asylum in Croatia and also denies any role in the sabotage.
German state prosecutors alleged in July that Ukrainian state authorities ordered the operation to permanently halt gas supplies and prevent Russia from funding its war effort. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has denied that his country took part.
The Hamburg court rejected a request by Russian interests to participate as co-plaintiffs. The Russian company Gazprom had argued for participation based on severe economic consequences, but the court ruled that restoring the pipelines, while expensive, was not economically impossible.
Sixteen trial dates have been scheduled at Hamburg’s Hanseatic higher regional court up to 17 December, with more hearings expected in January and February.
