Объекты «Северного потока — 2» на участке берегового пересечения в России в сентябре 2021 года. Фото: nord-stream2.com
Ukrainian citizen Serhiy Kuznetsov, a suspect in the investigation into the Nord Stream pipeline explosions, has been charged with a war crime in Germany. This was reported by RIA Novosti, citing a statement from his lawyer, Nicola Canestrini.
“Our defence fully contests the charges brought against him,” the defence said in a statement.
According to the lawyer, the indictment filed by the German authorities contains “nothing more than the prosecution’s hypothesis.”
As a reminder, on July 1 Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office charged 50-year-old Ukrainian citizen Serhiy K. in connection with the explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022.
According to prosecutors, Kuznetsov led a group of seven people who used the chartered sailing yacht Andromeda to reach the pipelines and place explosive devices at a depth of about 80 metres. The explosions on Sept. 26, 2022, damaged three pipeline strings.
Kuznetsov was detained in Italy in August 2025 while on holiday and has been held in pretrial detention in Germany since November last year. He denies any involvement in the explosions.
In an appeal against his detention, Kuznetsov invoked the “functional immunity” of military personnel, arguing that he had acted under orders.