Germany has stood by Ukraine throughout Russia’s invasion. A trial over the Nord Stream explosions could put Berlin’s unconditional support to the test.
The trial of Ukrainian national Serhiy Kuznetsov began in Hamburg on October 14. Investigators allege that he took part in the September 2022 bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines.
Kuznetsov, 50, is formally charged with disrupting the operation of essential public infrastructure. Investigators allege that he coordinated the sabotage team that carried out the explosions.
The indictment, reviewed by the broadcaster ZDF, says Ukrainian state agencies commissioned the sabotage. ZDF did not specify which agencies. Investigators identify Roman Chervinskyi, an officer in Ukraine’s security services, as the organizer.
Prosecutors say Kuznetsov’s actions should be classified as a war crime because he was serving in the military at the time of the bombing and acted with the knowledge of the Ukrainian authorities. His defense team maintains that he had nothing to do with the incident. His lawyers say he was in Ukraine when the bombing occurred.
The broadcaster ARD reported that the trial and the court’s final ruling will have significant international implications. “The mere fact that a Ukrainian citizen is appearing before a German court on charges of sabotage and other crimes is an extremely serious matter at a time when Ukraine is fighting for its survival and Germany is its biggest supporter in its fight to defend itself against Russia,” international law expert Clemens Fischer told the broadcaster.
He said Germany would find it “very difficult to continue supporting Ukraine unconditionally” if the court established that the Ukrainian government was involved in the sabotage.
It is unclear how long the trial will last. The court said it could not conclude the case in just a few hearings, “simply because of the volume of case files and the international aspects of the case.” Hearings are currently scheduled through January 29, 2027, averaging twice a week. It could take “years” to reach a verdict, ARD reported.
Kuznetsov is the first defendant in the Nord Stream bombing case. German prosecutors have issued seven arrest warrants for suspected participants in the sabotage. The only other suspect in custody is Volodymyr Zhuravlev.
Zhuravlev was detained in Poland in 2025, but a Warsaw court refused to extradite him to Germany, citing a lack of evidence linking him to the incident. He went to Ukraine, but in 2026 he was detained again on the German warrant, this time in Croatia. According to unconfirmed reports, he had traveled there for the filming of a movie about the Nord Stream bombings. He is now awaiting extradition to Germany.
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.