German prosecutors charge Ukrainian suspect over Nord Stream explosions

Prosecutors allege a yacht was utilized successful the sabotage of pipelines, with the fishy starring the operation.

German national prosecutors ⁠have filed charges ⁠against a 50-year-old Ukrainian nationalist implicit a bid of explosions that destroyed 2 Nord Stream underwater state pipelines linking Russia to Europe successful 2022.

The national prosecutor’s bureau declined to remark connected the specifics of the indictment connected Wednesday against the accused, who is identified lone arsenic Serhii K successful tribunal documents nether German privateness rules.

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Serhii K is accused of attacking civilian vigor infrastructure, causing an explosion, and destroying structures, according to the German nationalist broadcaster ARD.

The underwater explosions damaged some the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines truthful severely that nary state could beryllium transported done them, knocking retired the cardinal routes for Russian state ⁠to Europe for months aft Moscow’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022.

In a December 2025 detention filing by the Federal Court of Justice, prosecutors allege that Serhii K helped coordinate a squad that utilized a sailing yacht, the Andromeda, to spot explosive devices connected the pipelines adjacent Denmark’s ⁠Bornholm Island successful September 2022.

According to those documents, Serhii K is suspected of acting arsenic the on-board coordinator and squad leader, not arsenic a diver oregon weaponry expert.

The Berlin instrumentality steadfast Menaker, which is representing the accused Ukrainian, has not provided immoderate details connected the indictment.

Federal prosecutors confirmed to the AFP quality bureau that Serhii K was the aforesaid fishy who was arrested successful August 2025 successful Italy and extradited to Germany the pursuing November, and who was named astatine the clip arsenic Serhii Kuznietsov.

At the clip of his arrest, German prosecutors said Kuznietsov had utilized forged individuality documents to charter a yacht, which departed from the German metropolis of Rostock to transportation retired the attacks.

Kuznietsov has denied being portion of the sabotage operation. He said helium was a subordinate of the Ukrainian equipped forces and successful Ukraine astatine the clip of the incident, a assertion his defence squad has said would springiness him “functional immunity” nether planetary law.

Answering a question from Germany’s Der Spiegel mag during a quality league successful Dublin connected Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was excessively soon to remark connected the charges against Serhii K successful detail.

“We person not officially received immoderate details; astatine slightest I person not seen them”, Zelenskyy said. “It is excessively aboriginal to accidental yet,” helium added.

Ukraine’s authorities has antecedently denied immoderate engagement successful the sabotage oregon cognition of the crippled to weaponry the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines.