Trial of Serhii Kuznietsov begins in Hamburg over Nord Stream bombings

On October 14, 2026, the trial of 50-year-old former Ukrainian officer Serhii Kuznietsov began in a Hamburg court. Kuznietsov is accused of leading a team of seven individuals, including divers and explosives experts, in the September 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea. The defendant was arrested in Italy in 2025 and subsequently extradited to Germany, where he now faces a 108-page indictment.

According to German prosecutors, the group utilized a rented recreational vessel to approach the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm. Experts allegedly placed explosives at a depth of approximately 80 meters, resulting in significant damage to three of the four pipelines and a permanent disruption of major Russian natural gas supplies to Western Europe. Kuznietsov, who served as a captain in the Ukrainian military at the time, denies all charges, which include war crimes related to attacks on critical civilian infrastructure, causing explosions, and the destruction of public utility systems.

As the legal proceedings move forward, the court is expected to examine evidence detailing the operation and the sequence of events that led to the destruction of the energy infrastructure. The trial represents a significant development in the multi-year investigation into the Baltic pipeline attacks.