Coin Press - Ukraine ex-military officer to stand trial over Nord Stream sabotage

In September that year, seven months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a series of blasts under the Baltic Sea damaged three of the four Nord Stream pipelines designed to carry Russian gas to Europe.

While some in the West were quick to accuse Russia of sabotaging its own export route, German investigators identified a cell of Ukrainians they say were the alleged perpetrators.

In August last year Sergiy Kuznietsov was arrested in Italy while on holiday with his family, and extradited to Germany the following month.

Investigators allege the former Ukrainian special forces officer led a small group comprising professional divers, an explosives expert, and a boat skipper that planted explosives on the pipelines.

Kuznietsov, standing trial at a Hamburg court, will face charges including carrying out a "war crime", attacking civilian infrastructure and causing an explosion.

According to the indictment, he entered Germany in early September 2022 using a forged Ukrainian passport and, together with the rest of the sabotage team, boarded a rented yacht in the German Baltic Sea port city of Rostock.

The yacht was allegedly loaded with large quantities of military-grade explosives and set sail for a spot where the pipelines ran under the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm.

Divers then allegedly planted explosive charges equipped with timers on the pipelines, which blew up several days later.

- Sabotage attacks -

Kuznietsov's lawyers unsuccessfully tried to challenge the German court's jurisdiction over the attacks, and suggested they may argue that the pipelines were legitimate military targets in Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion.

His trial is currently scheduled to run until February 2027.

The pipelines were built and owned by a corporate consortium led by Russian energy giant Gazprom.

At the time of the blasts, none were in operation.

Moscow had already suspended gas deliveries to western Europe through Nord Stream 1, comprising two pipelines, after the European Union imposed sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

Nord Stream 2, also made up of two pipelines, had only just been completed and never entered service.

When asked by AFP what Russia expected from the trial, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he expects "that those who carried it out will be named, along with those who ordered it".

"I don't think anybody has any doubt about who it really is," Peskov added.

A senior Ukrainian official, meanwhile, told AFP that Kyiv has "no expectations from the trial".

- Sensitive subject -

Kyiv has consistently denied orchestrating the sabotage.

But it has made no secret of its satisfaction with the results, saying that by rendering the pipelines inoperable, Moscow's ability to fund the war was weakened.

Another suspect, only partially identified as Volodymyr Z., was arrested in Croatia in August. He is accused of taking part in the operation as a diver.

A Croatian court has approved his extradition to Germany although he is appealing the decision.

According to Croatian media and Germany's Spiegel news magazine, Volodymyr Z. was reportedly advising the makers of a Hollywood film inspired by the sabotage, with Oscar-winnning actor Adrien Brody tapped to portray the leader of the sabotage unit.

Volodymyr Z. had previously been arrested in Poland but was freed after a Polish judge refused to extradite him to Germany, ruling that the sabotage of the pipelines was justified as part of Ukraine's defence.

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Germany has become Kyiv's leading military backer and regularly accuses Russia of sabotage and espionage on its soil.

But the Nord Stream sabotage remains a sensitive subject in Germany.

Some have blamed the attacks for helping to drive up energy prices and worsening a gas crisis that rocked Europe's biggest economy.

M.Anderson--CPN