Hamburg, Germany. German federal prosecutors have charged a former Ukrainian army officer as a co-perpetrator of a war crime in connection with the 2022 Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions. Prosecutors said he acted on behalf of Ukrainian state entities.
Charges filed in Hamburg
Prosecutors said on Thursday that they had filed charges against Serhii K., identified under German privacy rules only by his first name and initial, before a regional court in Hamburg.
They accuse him of acting as a co-perpetrator in a war crime involving an attack on civilian objects, causing an explosion, destroying infrastructure and disrupting public services.
Ukrainian response
Authorities in Kyiv said on Thursday that they did not have enough information about the case to respond in detail to the allegations by German prosecutors.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that he had not yet received full details of the indictment, which had been served that day. The list of charges was published on Thursday.
“The relevant authorities of our countries will get in touch, and when we receive more details, we will probably be able to respond. For now, it is too early to speak,” he said.
Prosecutors’ account of the attack
Prosecutors said the attack was aimed at halting Moscow’s gas revenue.
Russia and Western countries have described the September 2022 blasts, which followed Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine earlier that year, as sabotage.
The explosions damaged the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, a vital route for Russian gas exports to Europe, as well as the Nord Stream 2 branch, which had yet to enter service.
At the time of the alleged attack, Moscow had recently halted gas deliveries via Nord Stream 1, blaming Western sanctions and technical issues, while Europe accused it of weaponising energy supplies.