Nord Stream sabotage trial opens against ex-Ukrainian officer

German prosecutors opened trial Wednesday against Serhii Kuznietsov, a former Ukrainian Security Service officer accused of overseeing the September 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions, which released up to 485,000 tons of methane and blew holes in three of four lines. He was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and faces charges including attacking civilian infrastructure, a war crime, plus causing explosions and property damage.

Prosecutors say Kuznietsov and other officers acted on orders from Ukrainian state agencies to cut off Russian gas revenue funding the war, using a rented yacht and professional divers who placed explosives over 230 feet deep near Bornholm. His defense argues the pipelines were a legitimate military target, essentially Russian leverage rather than protected civilian infrastructure, a distinction the court must resolve to decide the war crime charge.

Western officials initially blamed Russia before media reports by 2023 pointed to a pro-Ukrainian group, with the U.S. saying it found no evidence of Russian involvement. Ukrainian President Zelensky and former top commander Valery Zaluzhny, who reports say supervised the operation, have both denied involvement, while some researchers still float competing theories involving Gazprom or American intelligence.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.