Prozesse: Ukrainer wegen Nord-Stream-Anschlägen ab Oktober vor Gericht

The trial for the attacks on Nord-Stream gas pipelines is set to begin on October 14th at the Hanseatic High Court in Hamburg, Germany. The court has allowed the prosecution of Ukrainian national Serhij K. for the main trial, according to a court spokesperson. Sixteen court dates are scheduled until December 17th, with additional dates planned for January and February 2027.

The state prosecution's senate concluded that the accused was sufficiently suspected of being an accomplice to the war crime of using prohibited methods of warfare through an attack against civilian objects, triggering a dynamite explosion, destroying buildings, and disrupting public services, based on the results of the pre-trial investigation.

Explosions near the Danish island of Bornholm severely damaged the Nord-Stream pipelines in September 2022, halting gas flow from Russia to Germany. Nord Stream 1 had been transporting Russian gas to Germany until then, while Nord Stream 2 was not yet operational. However, the flow of gas through Nord Stream 1 had been significantly slowed or stopped multiple times by Russian forces in the months leading up to the attacks, following the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

So far, no one has been held responsible for the attacks. On August 31st, 2025, the suspected mastermind was arrested near the Adriatic coast on vacation with his family, based on a European arrest warrant. Serhij K. resisted his extradition to Germany for three months. Three months after his arrest, he was extradited to Germany on November 27th, where a court judge ordered his detention on the same day.

He has been in German custody since then. In early July, charges were brought against him. Explosions at a depth of 80 meters were placed, with six accomplices - a ship captain, a bomb expert, and four divers - boarding the yacht Andromeda in Wiek harbor on Rügen after renting it for several weeks. The group allegedly planted four time-delayed explosives on the gas pipelines near Bornholm during underwater dives up to 80 meters deep.

The explosives were reportedly military-grade high-performance explosives with significant destructive power that can function in deep water. The explosions detonated on September 26th, 2022. Serhij K. is believed to have been an officer in a special unit of the Ukrainian armed forces at the time. Another suspected accomplice, Wolodymyr Z., is currently being held in Croatian custody under a European arrest warrant.

The German public prosecutor's office charges Z. with jointly triggering a dynamite explosion, among other things. He is also believed to have been one of the divers who attached the explosive charges to the pipelines in the North Sea.