Germany charges Ukrainian ex-soldier with Nord Stream sabotage, first indictment in 2022 pipeline blasts
German federal prosecutors have indicted a former Ukrainian special forces officer for the 2022 bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, marking the first charges in the case.
The indictment
Germany's Federal Public Prosecutor General has charged Serhij K., a Ukrainian national and former soldier, with the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, marking the first criminal indictment in the case nearly four years after the explosions. The charges, announced on 1 July 2026, include war crimes, causing an explosion, destruction of buildings, and attacks on civilian energy infrastructure. Multiple German media outlets reported the filing, citing the prosecution office and the suspect's lawyers.
From arrest to extradition
Serhij K. was arrested in August 2025 on the Adriatic coast of Italy while on holiday with his family, based on a European arrest warrant. He resisted extradition to Germany for months, at one point going on a hunger strike over his treatment. On 27 November 2025, he was transferred to Germany, and the next day a judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe ordered his pre-trial detention. An appeal against the detention order was rejected in December 2025.
How the operation unfolded
According to the Federal Court of Justice, Serhij K. and six accomplices (a skipper, an explosives expert, and four deep-sea divers) boarded the chartered sailing yacht Andromeda at the port of Wiek on Rügen on or before 8 September 2022. They sailed to the area near the Danish island of Bornholm and, at depths of up to 80 meters, attached four time-fused explosive devices to the Nord Stream pipelines. The devices, described as military-grade high-performance explosives, detonated on 26 September 2022, severely damaging the pipelines. At the time, neither pipeline was transporting gas; Nord Stream 1 had been throttled or halted by Russia earlier that year after its invasion of Ukraine.
- Explosions damage Nord Stream pipelines near Bornholm
- Sweden confirms sabotage after finding explosive traces
- Suspect Serhij K. arrested in Italy
- Extradited to Germany and taken into custody
- Federal Court of Justice rejects detention appeal
- Federal prosecutors indict Serhij K. for sabotage
Context and legal questions
The sabotage caused massive leaks and geopolitical uproar. Sweden confirmed it was sabotage in November 2022, and investigations were launched in Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. While early suspicion was cast in multiple directions, the German probe eventually focused on a Ukrainian team. The prosecutor's office believes the operation was carried out on behalf of a foreign state, but maintains that this does not bar prosecution in Germany. The Federal Court of Justice ruled that functional immunity for state officials does not cover "intelligence-directed acts of violence."
The Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg must now decide whether to admit the charges and when a trial will begin.Functional immunity for officials does not apply to intelligence-directed acts of violence.
