Gerichtsprozess: Anklage wirft Nord-Stream-Verdächtigem Kriegsverbrechen vor

Four years after the attack on the Nord-Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, a trial commenced in Hamburg against a Ukrainian suspect suspected of involvement. The 50-year-old Serhij K., a Ukrainian national, stands trial before the State Protection Senate of the Hanseatic High Court, facing charges including the alleged commission of war crimes.

The prosecution also accuses him of instigating explosive devices, destruction of buildings, and interference with public functions. As he committed these acts as an officer of the Ukrainian army with knowledge of state institutions of Ukraine, they are deemed war crimes. The attacks on the Nord-Stream gas pipelines made global headlines in September 2022, shortly after the commencement of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

The defendant is said to have led the command and control operations. The media frenzy surrounding the courtroom was immense, with over 100 journalists registering for the proceedings, including those from Russia, Ukraine, the USA, China, and several European countries. Serhij K. is alleged, along with other military personnel and on behalf of state institutions of Ukraine, to have planned the destruction of the gas pipelines running from Russia through Lubmin in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The aim was to prevent Russia from using the gas revenues to finance its war of aggression against Ukraine. Demonstrators of about 20 Ukrainians protested outside the court building, demanding that the defendant not be convicted of war crimes. They argued that Ukraine itself was unaware of what constitutes war crimes since the Russian aggression.