Four years after explosions ripped through three of the four Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, a Ukrainian former army officer stands trial in Hamburg. Serhii K, also known as Serhii Kuznetsov, faces charges of plotting with fellow military personnel to destroy the infrastructure that once carried Russian gas to Germany. The proceedings, set to begin on Wednesday, mark the first criminal case directly linked to the seismic blasts of 26 September 2022.
The Accusations and Evidence
German prosecutors allege that in 2022 Serhii K was a serving officer in the Ukrainian army and led a team comprising professional divers, a boat captain and an explosives expert. They claim the group rented the yacht Andromeda from the northern German port of Rostock and carried subsea explosives to the pipeline site off Bornholm. Investigators from Sweden, Denmark and Germany later reported that “traces of subsea explosives were found in the samples taken from the boat”. The indictment further states that the saboteurs conceived the plot “acting by order of Ukrainian state agencies”.
Serhii K denies the allegations, as does a second suspect, Volodymyr Zhuravlov, who is resisting extradition from Croatia. Both men maintain their innocence despite the forensic links prosecutors have drawn to the Andromeda.
Legal Battles Over Extradition
Serhii K was detained in August 2025 after checking into a hotel near the Adriatic resort of Rimini, acting on a European arrest warrant issued by German federal prosecutors. After weeks of legal wrangling in Italy, he was transferred to Germany late last year. Meanwhile, a different legal trajectory unfolded for Zhuravlov. In October 2025 a Polish judge ordered his release, ruling that “the attack on the pipelines was not unlawful, and if Ukraine had organised an armed mission it was ‘justified, rational and just’.” He was later arrested in Croatia on suspicion of participating in the dives required for the sabotage; Croatian authorities have approved his extradition, though the timing remains uncertain.
In January 2025 Germany’s Federal Court of Justice confirmed that the case falls under German territorial jurisdiction, stating that prosecutors have a duty to act because the alleged sabotage “undermines [Germany’s] internal security”. The offence is being prosecuted under the country’s code of crimes against international law, characterising the act as a war crime: “an attack by military means against civilian objects”.
Political Sensitivities Between Kyiv and Berlin
The trial has sparked contrasting narratives in the two capitals. Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Merezhko, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, told the BBC that the blasts occurred while Ukraine was defending itself against Russia’s invasion and described Nord Stream 2 as “nothing but a tool used by Russia in order to get prepared for the war”. He added that Kyiv has “no confirmation of the German account” and characterised it as “one of the versions”.
Conversely, Stefan Meister of the German Council on Foreign Relations argued that successive Berlin chancellors have sought to depoliticise the matter. He said they “tried to make not a big story out of it, not to give it too much attention, to give it to the institutions, to the judiciary that they will deal with it. This is not a political case. So they tried to depoliticise it.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly insisted that Ukraine had “nothing to do with [the Nord Stream blasts]”. Despite the tensions, Merezhko believes the proceedings will not damage bilateral ties, asserting that “it’s in the best national interests of Germany to continue to support us”.
Why it Matters
The Hamburg trial represents a critical test of how European states balance judicial accountability with delicate diplomatic relations amid an ongoing war. A conviction could set a precedent for prosecuting alleged state‑sponsored sabotage under international law, while an acquittal might fuel accusations of political interference. Either outcome will reverberate through NATO‑Ukraine cooperation, influence public perceptions of Germany’s role in the conflict, and shape future legal approaches to attacks on cross‑border energy infrastructure.
