Ukrainian Citizen Accused of Organizing NordStream Pipeline Blasts to Stand Trial in Germany

The trial of a Ukrainian citizen accused of organizing the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022 is set to begin in Germany on October 14.

Reuters reports this.

According to German prosecutors, Serhii K. (Serhii Kuznetsov) led a group of Ukrainians that included divers and an explosives expert.

Investigators believe the group planned and carried out the sabotage operation on the orders of unidentified Ukrainian state agencies, planting explosive devices on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.

Kuznetsov was arrested in Italy last year under an international warrant and extradited to Germany. He denies any involvement in the explosions. Ukrainian authorities have also denied Kyiv’s involvement in the pipeline sabotage.

While in custody, Kuznetsov repeatedly tried to prevent his extradition, including by going on hunger strike.

The trial is expected to be the first opportunity to examine the evidence gathered during the years-long investigation publicly.

German prosecutors classify the alleged actions of Kuznetsov as a war crime. They believe the likely aim of the operation was to destroy one of Russia’s main sources of revenue following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Croatian authorities have arrested another man, Volodymyr Zhuravliov. German prosecutors believe he was one of the divers involved in the operation to sabotage the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

On September 18, the County Court in the Croatian city of Pula approved extraditing the Ukrainian national to Germany.

Germany submitted two requests to Croatia to extradite Zhuravliov under European arrest warrants issued in June 2024 and August 2026.

Zhuravliov and his defense team argued that the requests should be rejected, citing a ruling by the Warsaw District Court, which refused Germany’s extradition request in October 2025. At the time, the Polish court questioned whether German law applied to the explosions in international waters and stated that the case should be considered in the context of Russian aggression.