OMM Redaksiyası
The trial of former Ukrainian military officer Serhii K. has begun in Germany. He is accused of organizing the 2022 explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines, which played a major role in transporting Russian gas to Europe.
German privacy laws prevent the defendant’s full name from being disclosed. Prosecutors allege that he led a group of Ukrainian operatives, including divers and an explosives expert. Serhii K. denies the charges.
Prosecutors say the group acted on orders from unidentified Ukrainian state bodies, aiming to cut off one of Russia’s main sources of revenue after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine earlier that year. The Ukrainian government denies involvement in the incident.
Explosives were allegedly placed on the Baltic Sea floor
According to prosecutors, Serhii K. travelled from Poland to Germany on a false Ukrainian passport about three weeks before the explosions. The group allegedly later chartered a yacht at the port of Rostock and set course for Denmark’s Bornholm island.
According to German magazine Der Spiegel and broadcaster ZDF, five men and one woman were aboard the yacht. The vessel, named Andromeda, left Rostock on September 6 and returned on September 23.
The prosecution says the group placed military-grade explosives fitted with timers on the seabed. Swedish seismologists recorded several explosions on September 26, 2022, about 17 hours apart. The blasts damaged three of the four Nord Stream pipelines, located at depths of 80 to 110 metres in the Baltic Sea, and released large amounts of methane into the atmosphere.
Nord Stream played a major role in Germany’s gas supply
Nord Stream 1 supplied half of Germany’s gas imports. Its twin pipeline, Nord Stream 2, had been completed but never entered service, as Berlin suspended approval for the project shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian gas supplies had already fallen amid tensions over Western sanctions.
Serhii K. was arrested in Italy in August 2025 while on holiday and later extradited to Germany. According to broadcaster ARD, investigators identified seven suspects; one of them later died fighting against Russia.
Sixteen court sessions have been scheduled through December 17. Further hearings are also planned for January and February.
Russia said on Monday that it expects a “fair verdict” identifying those who carried out the attack and those who ordered it.
