Nord Stream Blast Ordered by Ukraine, German Prosecutors Say

German federal prosecutors have formally accused a Ukrainian army officer of helping carry out the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, alleging the operation was ordered by Ukrainian state authorities.

In an indictment announced on Thursday and sourced by Deutsche Welle, prosecutors said Serhiy Kuznetsov, 50, and six accomplices acted “on the orders of state authorities in Ukraine” to destroy the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines linking Russia with Europe.

According to prosecutors, Kuznetsov was serving as an officer in the Ukrainian military at the time of the operation, while the other members of the group were also military personnel.

Investigators allege the team’s objective was to permanently halt Russian gas deliveries through the pipelines and deny Moscow energy revenues that could be used to finance its war against Ukraine.

The allegations place Germany, one of Kyiv’s strongest military and financial backers, in a diplomatically sensitive position if they are upheld in court.

German prosecutors said the group traveled from Ukraine to Germany using forged Ukrainian passports before renting the yacht Andromeda from a company in the northern port city of Rostock.

The suspects allegedly sailed to waters near the Danish island of Bornholm, where they attached explosive charges containing military-grade HMX and RDX explosives to the underwater pipelines using timed detonators.

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The explosives detonated on Sept. 26, 2022, severely damaging three of the four Nord Stream pipelines. Although neither pipeline was transporting gas at the time, the blasts permanently disabled a key piece of Russian energy infrastructure linking Russia to Europe.

Prosecutors noted that before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Nord Stream 1 had carried roughly half of Germany’s annual natural gas imports.

Kuznetsov Denies Involvement

German media reported Wednesday that Kuznetsov faces charges including complicity in a war crime, causing an explosion, disrupting public services, and destroying critical infrastructure.

The suspect was extradited from Italy after being arrested in August 2025 on a German warrant.

Kuznetsov has denied any role in the sabotage. His lawyer told Reuters he expects his client to be acquitted.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday, July 1, that Kyiv had not yet received the full details of the German case and would comment once more information becomes available.

The Nord Stream explosions remain one of the most consequential acts of infrastructure sabotage in Europe since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

German prosecutors’ decision to directly accuse Ukrainian state authorities marks the clearest official attribution made so far in the long-running investigation.