On the first day of the trial before the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg, the prosecutor read the indictment. According to the German prosecutor's office, 50-year-old Serhiy K. allegedly led the team that in September 2022 placed explosives on three of the four lines of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.
The 136-page document was created after a four-year investigation conducted by the Federal Criminal Office (BKA), the police and the prosecutor's office. Investigators claim that the accused was the commander of a sabotage group operating - according to the indictment - on behalf of the Ukrainian authorities.
The charges were translated to Serhiy K. into Ukrainian. The accused did not speak.
The defense talks about a political trial
Serhiy K.'s lawyers argued in court that the case was political in nature. They also questioned the legal basis for their client's extradition from Italy to Germany.
The defense emphasizes that the investigation did not produce direct and reliable evidence that would confirm the defendant's participation in the attack. Jens Meyer-Lohkamp, representing Serhiy K., admitted that his client is an officer of the Ukrainian armed forces. At the same time, he assessed that the court should consider whether actions against the gas pipelines could be justified in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
However, the lawyer emphasized that this did not mean admitting Serhiy K.'s participation in the operation.
The lawyers also drew attention to the conditions of the man's detention. According to them, he has been alone in a cell for almost a year and has had significantly limited contact with other people.
Arrested in Italy and conversation overheard
Serhiy K. was detained in August 2025 in Italy, where he was on vacation with his family. He maintains that he was not involved in blowing up the gas pipelines and was in Ukraine at the time of the attack.
After his arrest, he was imprisoned in Ferrara. He went on a hunger strike there for 11 days. At the end of November 2025, he was handed over to the German side and placed in custody.
According to investigators, after the man was detained in Italy, their belief that the right person had been arrested significantly strengthened. From detention, Serhiy K. allegedly called his wife and talked about the "right time" to publish a statement that the destruction of Nord Stream was an "official military operation." He also allegedly mentioned the need for his superior to confirm that he and K. were not "two crazy military men."
According to the case materials, the conversation was overheard by Italian law enforcement authorities.
Investigators point to the Ukrainian services
The German prosecutor's office claims that in September 2022, Serhiy K. belonged to a Ukrainian special unit and worked for the Ukrainian services.
In the investigative documents, former Ukrainian intelligence officer Roman Czerwinski appears as the organizer of the operation. He denies these accusations. According to the prosecutor's office, the operation was to be approved by the then Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, who also rejects these claims.
The explosion at the bottom of the Baltic Sea occurred on September 26, 2022, more than seven months after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Three of the four gas pipelines transporting Russian gas to Germany were destroyed. The explosions occurred at a depth of about 80 meters.
A demonstration by Ukrainian groups took place in front of the court in Hamburg. The next hearing was scheduled for October 27.
