Germany accuses a former Ukrainian officer of sabotaging the Nord Stream pipeline in 2022
Germany has charged an ex-Ukrainian officer with sabotaging the Nord Stream pipeline in 2022, saying that he was working for Ukraine.
Serhii K. was charged on Thursday in a regional court in Hamburg. His full name has been changed to protect his privacy under German law.
Prosecutors say the defendant committed a war crime by planning an attack on civilian infrastructure that caused explosions, damaged important energy facilities, and slowed down public services.
German officials say that Serhii K., who was an officer in the Ukrainian military at the time, planned the destruction of both the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines with other people.
According to the prosecutors, the operation’s goal was to stop Russian gas exports through the Baltic Sea pipes for good and keep Moscow from getting money to pay for its military campaign in Ukraine.
According to the indictment, the accused was responsible for a group that included professional divers, a captain, and an expert in explosives. Investigators say that the group got into Germany in September 2022 using fake Ukrainian travel papers. They then rented a yacht with fake identification, according to the investigators.
Police also say that the group brought military-grade explosives through international waters to a location near Denmark’s Bornholm Island. There, they allegedly connected the explosives to pipelines on the Baltic Sea floor and set them off with timed fuses.
Serhii K. was arrested in Italy in August and sent back to Germany in November after being extradited. He has said he had nothing to do with the blasts in the pipeline.
When asked about the case, Ukrainian officials said they didn’t have enough information to comment on the claims yet. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, also said that he had just gotten details of the indictment and that Kyiv would respond after looking into the case.
Zelenskyy said, “The relevant authorities of our countries will talk, and once we get the necessary information, we will be able to respond.”
Both Russia and Western governments say that the explosions in September 2022 were acts of sabotage. They did a lot of damage to the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and one branch of Nord Stream 2, which had not yet started doing business.
Russia had already cut off gas supplies through Nord Stream 1 at that point, citing technical difficulties and Western sanctions. European governments then said that Moscow was using energy exports as a political tool.
As the pipelines end in Lubmin, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, German prosecutors said the case was within their country’s jurisdiction. They said the case was within their jurisdiction because the damage directly affected Germany’s energy infrastructure and national security.
According to German law, someone who plans an attack on civilian infrastructure can get at least three years in jail. In less serious cases, the sentence could be less severe.
