A Ukrainian suspect is facing trial in Germany over the 2022 explosions that destroyed parts of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system. The case could strain relations between Kyiv and Berlin and intensify debate over military aid to Ukraine.
The trial of a Ukrainian national accused of involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines has opened a politically sensitive chapter in Germany’s relations with Ukraine.
Serhii Kuznetsov, a former counter-intelligence officer in Ukraine’s security service, was extradited to Germany after being arrested in Italy in August 2025. German prosecutors accuse him of helping organise the operation that damaged the pipelines in the Baltic Sea on September 26, 2022.
Prosecutors allege that the mission was carried out on the orders of state authorities, suggesting it was not an unauthorised operation by individual agents. Ukraine has denied the allegation, while Kuznetsov’s lawyers reject the charges.
The case could complicate Berlin’s continued financial and military support for Kyiv. It also risks providing political ammunition to Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has called for an end to military assistance to Ukraine over the attack.
AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla has argued that the allegations justify halting aid and called for those who ordered the operation to be identified publicly.
Evidence points to a yacht operation
The prosecution’s case draws on a 136-page indictment describing an operation involving false identities, forged passports, professional divers and a chartered sailing yacht named Andromeda.
Investigators believe the vessel was used as a base for the mission. According to the indictment, it travelled between ports in Germany, the Danish island of Bornholm, southern Sweden and Poland.
Evidence cited by prosecutors includes charter records, witness statements, border checks, harbour photographs and digital material. Investigators also reportedly found traces of the powerful explosives RDX and HMX aboard the yacht after it was returned to its rental company. Similar substances were identified on fragments recovered near the damaged pipelines.
The operation required specialist diving skills. The pipelines lay around 70 to 80 metres below the surface, where divers face darkness, low temperatures and high water pressure.
Expert reports commissioned by federal prosecutors indicate that six explosive devices were attached to three pipeline sections. The charges allegedly contained at least 14 kilograms of explosives each, with detonations on September 26 rendering the affected infrastructure inoperable.
A politically sensitive case
The allegations concern an attack on infrastructure that had been central to Germany’s energy relationship with Russia. Nord Stream 2 was completed but had not entered commercial operation before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The political context has since changed significantly. Germany, initially cautious about supplying heavy weapons to Kyiv, became one of Ukraine’s major military supporters in Europe.
The alleged operation was planned in the early months of the war, when relations between Berlin and Kyiv were less close, according to Bojan Pancevski, author of The Nord Stream Conspiracy. He has argued that the attack reflected the Ukrainian team’s determination to disrupt Russian energy revenues, regardless of the consequences for relations with Germany.
Moscow has consistently denied responsibility for the explosions. The trial could therefore also shape the political debate surrounding the sabotage, particularly if evidence emerges that links the operation to Ukrainian state authorities.
The central legal question is whether the destruction of the pipelines should be treated as a criminal attack on civilian infrastructure or as a military operation conducted during wartime. Kuznetsov has remained silent, while his lawyers have denied the allegations.
The proceedings in Hamburg are likely to have implications beyond the courtroom, with the outcome potentially affecting political debate in Germany and the country’s relationship with Ukraine.
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