Germany Officially Charges Ukrainian Citizen Over Nord Stream Sabotage

Germany’s Federal Prosecutor has formally charged Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznetsov in connection with the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

ARD Tagesschau reported on this.

According to ARD, as well as the newspapers Süddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeit, Federal Prosecutor Jens Rommel has, for the first time, filed criminal charges against a Ukrainian suspect over the Nord Stream pipeline attacks.

Kuznetsov is accused of attacking civilian energy infrastructure, which prosecutors say constitute a war crime under international criminal law. He also faces charges of causing an explosion and destroying critical infrastructure. According to the reports, prosecutors believe the evidence against him is strong.

According to investigators, while in Italy awaiting extradition, the Ukrainian suspect discussed the pipeline attacks in phone conversations with relatives and acquaintances, allegedly incriminating himself.

Security sources also report that investigators reportedly found evidence on his mobile phone linking him to the pipeline explosions.

Charges against Kuznetsov

Kuznetsov is suspected of involvement in the September 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, which carried Russian natural gas to Europe.

The explosions damaged three of the four pipeline strings. Investigations in Sweden and Denmark concluded without bringing charges, while Germany continued its own investigation.

German prosecutors allege that Kuznetsov was part of a group that planted explosive devices on the Nord Stream pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.

Kuznetsov denies the allegations, maintaining that he was in Ukraine at the time of the attacks.

He is currently being held in custody in Hamburg after being arrested while on vacation in Italy last summer and subsequently extradited to Germany.

Last month, it was reported that German prosecutors were seeking to obtain a confession from Kuznetsov regarding his alleged involvement in the Nord Stream sabotage in order to strengthen their case at trial. His defense team, however, argues that there is no direct evidence linking him to the attacks.