The trial of the Nord Stream bombing case begins in Germany. The defendant's lawyer said that the Nord Stream pipeline may be a "legitimate target"

Former Ukrainian special forces officer Serhii Kuznetsov (formerly known as "Serhi K" in previous reports) is accused of leading a team of Ukrainian personnel (including divers and demolition experts) to blow up Russia's largest natural gas pipeline to Europe, with a total length of 1,200 kilometers. It was one of the largest acts of destruction of infrastructure in modern history.

At the court hearing on Wednesday (October 14), evidence collected by investigators over several years was publicly presented for the first time. Reuters pointed out that as investigative clues linked the bombing to Kiev, the German government has always firmly supported Ukraine, which put Berlin in an awkward position diplomatically and politically.

Kuznetsov's defense lawyer Nicola Canestrini argued in his application to dismiss the case that the pipeline was responsible for half of Germany's natural gas imports before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, so it was actually "a Russian weapon."

"Is it illegal to destroy the infrastructure of an aggressor without harming anyone?" lawyer Canestrini asked.

Prosecutors allege that Kuznetsov cooperated with Ukrainian military personnel to conduct the covert operation for an undisclosed Ukrainian state entity. Kuznetsov was arrested in Italy last year on an international arrest warrant.

Kuznetsov, 50, denies involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline explosion. Dressed in a gray suit and with a shaved head, he exercised his right to remain silent in court but did not cover his face. His lawyers said he was unable to mount an effective defense because he was required to keep Ukrainian state secrets secret.

The Ukrainian government also denied any involvement in the bombing. Reuters pointed out that this is very sensitive because Germany is Ukraine’s largest military aid provider in Europe.

Russia said on Monday that it expected the court to make a "fair verdict" and reveal the identity of the perpetrators and behind-the-scenes masterminds.

According to Jes Meyer-Lohkamp, ​​another defense lawyer, Kuznetsov's defense team tried to contact Ukraine to seek information that might help the defense, but received no response.

German prosecutors pointed out that Kuznetsov's alleged actions - attacking civilian targets and triggering explosions that damaged infrastructure and damaged public services - constituted a war crime.

Kuznetsov is the only person currently on trial, but Croatian authorities have arrested another man (identified as "Vladimir Z.") who prosecutors believe was also one of the divers involved in the operation.

The Nord Stream pipeline explosion ended Germany's long-standing dependence on Russian natural gas. However, before the explosion, Moscow had stopped supplying gas to Germany due to Germany's support for European sanctions imposed over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to the original plan, with the opening of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the gas transmission capacity of the Nord Stream Pipeline was supposed to be doubled. However, on the eve of Russia's invasion, the German government revoked the pipeline's approval.

The trial, which is expected to last until February next year, may have an impact on German domestic politics.

Germany's right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been leading the polls for more than a year. The party advocates halting military aid to Ukraine and restoring energy cooperation with Moscow.

The Nord Stream natural gas pipeline system is located at a depth of 80 to 110 meters under the Baltic Sea. It was built by Gazprom and has a designed annual transmission capacity of 110 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The system was at the heart of economic ties between Germany and Russia.

The explosion that occurred on September 26, 2022 destroyed three of the four steel pipelines covered with concrete layers, causing a huge vortex on the sea surface, and a large amount of methane gas spewed out and entered the atmosphere.

Prosecutors allege that Kuznetsov entered Germany via Poland on a forged Ukrainian passport about three weeks before the attack. Subsequently, he and his accomplices rented a boat in the northern German city of Rostock, arrived in the waters near the Danish island of Bornholm, and planted specially prepared military-grade explosives on the seabed.

Germany's Der Spiegel and German Television Channel 2 (ZDF) previously reported that there were five men and one woman on the chartered boat at the time; the boat departed from Rostock on September 6, 2022, and returned on September 23.