German Prosecutors Indict Ukrainian Officer for Ordering Nord Stream Sabotage
German federal prosecutors have indicted a Ukrainian army officer, accusing him of carrying out the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage on orders from Ukrainian state authorities, a move that could strain relations between Berlin and Kyiv.
German prosecutors have accused Ukrainian “state authorities” of ordering the 2022 explosives attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, a charge that is likely to ignite tensions between Kyiv and Berlin, its biggest military backer.
The suspect, arrested in Italy last August and extradited to Germany in November, was indicted this week. He was named as Serhiy Kuznietsov. The federal prosecutor’s office charged him with war crimes “for an attack on a civilian site” as well as causing an explosion and disrupting public services.
According to the indictment, Kuznietsov, then an officer in the Ukrainian army, together with other members of the military, devised the plan to destroy Nord Stream pipelines 1 and 2 “on the orders of state authorities in Ukraine” after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Nord Stream 1 was a vital route for Russian gas exports to Europe, while Nord Stream 2 was yet to enter service.
“The aim was to permanently halt gas supplies via the pipelines and prevent Russia from using the revenue from natural gas trade to finance its war effort,” prosecutors said. At the time of the attack, Moscow had recently choked off deliveries via Nord Stream 1, citing western sanctions and technical issues, though European countries accused it of weaponising gas supplies. Germany, the EU’s top economy, was forced to scramble to meet its energy needs.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he had yet to receive full details of the indictment. “The relevant authorities of our countries will get in touch, and when we receive more details, we will probably be able to respond. For now, it is too early to speak,” he said.
Germany has overtaken the US as Ukraine’s single biggest national military backer. The German government did not immediately comment on the charges.
According to the indictment, a group was formed comprising professional divers, a skipper, and an explosives expert “under the leadership of the accused”. Kuznietsov allegedly entered Germany via Poland on 4 September 2022 using a forged Ukrainian passport. Shortly afterwards, he boarded an ocean-going sailing yacht with other members. The vessel had been chartered from a German company in Rostock using fake IDs.
The group allegedly transported large quantities of weapons-grade explosives to a site near the Danish island of Bornholm and “affixed explosive devices fitted with timers to the gas pipelines running along the seabed”. The devices detonated on 26 September, causing severe damage and releasing record amounts of methane.
Before the incident, Nord Stream 1 transported around half of Germany’s annual natural gas needs. Suspicion had initially focused on Russia and the US, before falling on Ukraine. Some people with detailed knowledge told German media they considered it an attack on a legitimate military target because the profits from gas deliveries helped bankroll Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Under German law, the war crime charge carries a minimum prison sentence of three years. The case is expected to go to trial in the autumn in Hamburg. The far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, which opposes German military support for Ukraine, is likely to seize on the case in the run-up to elections this September to press for cutting aid to Kyiv. The AfD holds the lead in national opinion polls.
