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Germany's federal prosecutors confirmed on Thursday that they have filed charges against a Ukrainian national for sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipeline in 2022, accusing him of being an accomplice in a war crime.
According to the indictment, filed on June 30 and obtained by POLITICO, prosecutors accuse a man identified as Serhii K. of acting as an accomplice in a war crime by carrying out an “attack on civilian objects,” causing explosions, destroying infrastructure and disrupting public services. The development brings one of Europe’s most politically sensitive investigations closer to the trial stage.
German prosecutors also allege that, in his capacity as a Ukrainian army officer in 2022, he and other members of the military forces, "acting on behalf of Ukrainian state bodies," devised a plan to destroy the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. According to them, the goal was to permanently cut off Russian gas supplies and prevent Moscow from using energy revenues to finance the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied any involvement by his government in the sabotage. Six underwater explosions in September 2022 destroyed three of the four lines of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany. The event opened a long-running debate over the perpetrators of one of the most significant acts of sabotage in Europe. At various times, Russia, Ukraine, the United States and the United Kingdom have been accused or named as suspects, with varying levels of evidence.
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Berlin took steps to end Russian gas imports. German investigators later concluded that the sabotage had been planned by a Ukrainian group as early as 2014, as previously reported by WELT and POLITICO.
According to investigators, Serhii K. was the commander of the sailing yacht Andromeda, from which the operation is alleged to have taken place. The indictment says he entered Germany via Poland in September 2022, using a forged Ukrainian passport, before transporting military-grade explosives on the yacht in waters near the Danish island of Bornholm.
German investigators have previously said that traces of HMX and RDX explosives were found on board the yacht. Serhii K. was arrested in Italy in August 2025, extradited to Germany three months later and has been held in custody in Hamburg since then.
Serhii K. denies all charges. The indictment against him marks the first time that German prosecutors have formally brought the Nord Stream sabotage case to court.
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