German prosecutors charge Ukrainian ex-officer over Nord Stream blasts, say Kyiv state ordered sabotage

Charges unveiled

German federal prosecutors formally indicted Serhii K, a 50-year-old former Ukrainian army officer, on Wednesday, accusing him of being an accomplice to a war crime, disruption of public services and causing an explosion that destroyed the two Nord Stream gas pipelines. The indictment, filed in a Hamburg regional court, marks the first time German authorities have explicitly alleged that the 2022 operation was directed by Ukrainian state bodies.

“The suspect and other military personnel, at the request of Ukrainian authorities, drew up a plan to destroy the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines.”

The stated objective was to permanently cut off gas flows and stop Russia from financing its full‑scale invasion of Ukraine with the proceeds from natural gas sales.

The operation at sea

According to the charges, Serhii K assembled a group of professional divers, a ship’s captain and an explosives expert. On 4 September 2022 he crossed from Poland into Germany on a forged Ukrainian passport and joined accomplices aboard the sailing yacht Andromeda, rented from a Rostock company using fake identity documents. The team then transported large quantities of military‑grade explosives, including HMX and RDX, through international waters to a location near the Danish island of Bornholm.

Between 4 and 22 September the divers attached explosive devices with time fuses to the pipelines on the Baltic seabed. The devices detonated four days later, on 26 September, tearing through three of the four lines that make up Nord Stream 1 and 2 and causing severe, lasting damage to the infrastructure.

Political and diplomatic ripples

The charges place Germany, Ukraine’s second‑largest military backer, in a delicate position. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking before the full indictment was made public, said Kyiv had not yet received sufficient information to respond substantively.

“The relevant authorities of our countries will get in touch, and when we receive more details, we will probably be able to respond. For now, it is too early to speak.”

Prosecutors have stressed that the defendant acted on orders, not as a freelancer, a nuance that could colour future diplomatic conversations between Berlin and Kyiv.

Why Nord Stream mattered

Before the war Nord Stream 1 alone carried about half of Germany’s annual natural gas consumption. The twin pipelines, both running from Russia to the German landing point at Lubmin, had been a pillar of Europe’s energy supply for years. At the time of the explosions Moscow had already halted shipments through Nord Stream 1, blaming Western sanctions and technical problems, while Europe accused the Kremlin of weaponising energy. The sabotage instantly made the pre‑war configuration impossible to restore.

Serhii K was apprehended in Italy in August 2025 and extradited to Germany in November. He denies any involvement. If convicted, he faces a minimum prison term of three years, though the international war‑crime charge could push the sentence considerably higher.