Court case: Prosecution accuses Nord Stream suspect of war crimes
The Ukrainian Serhij K. has to answer before the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court for the alleged destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines.
Quick Look
- The trial against the Ukrainian officer Serhij K. for blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022 has begun in Hamburg.
- The federal prosecutor's office accuses him, among other things, of war crimes.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
In September 2022, the Nord Stream pipelines were destroyed by attacks in the Baltic Sea.
The defendant is said to have destroyed the Nord Stream pipelines as a Ukrainian officer and with the knowledge of state authorities. He is now on trial in Hamburg.
The defendant Serhij K. sits between his lawyers: The attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines made headlines in September 2022. Photo: Markus Scholz/dpa-Pool/dpa
Hamburg. About four years after the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, the trial against one of the suspected perpetrators began in Hamburg. The 50-year-old Ukrainian Serhij K. has to answer before the State Security Senate of the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court, among other things, on charges of war crimes.
In the indictment read out at the start of the trial, the federal prosecutor's office also accuses him of causing explosive explosions, destroying buildings and disrupting public operations. Since he committed the acts as an officer in the Ukrainian army and with the knowledge of Ukrainian state authorities, they should be viewed as war crimes.
The attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines made headlines around the world in September 2022 - a few months after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
The defendant is said to have led an explosive squad
The media rush in front of the courtroom was correspondingly large. According to the court, more than 100 journalists had registered for the trial, including media from Russia, Ukraine, the USA, China and several European countries.
According to the indictment, Serhij K., together with other military personnel and on behalf of Ukrainian state authorities, is said to have developed the plan to destroy the natural gas pipelines running from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Lubmin in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The aim was to prevent Russia from using income from gas trading to finance its war of aggression against Ukraine.
About 20 Ukrainians demonstrated in front of the courthouse. They demanded that the defendant not be convicted of war crimes. A spokesman for the demonstrators said that his country had not only known what war crimes were since the Russian war of aggression. “Ukraine has the right to defend itself in order to survive.”
More: Historic sabotage attack: Why the Nord Stream process is so explosive
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Continuation of the trial negotiations at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court
Very likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- Which other people were involved in the attacks?
- When is a verdict expected in the trial?
