After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, German prosecutors say Serhii K. and other Ukrainian military personnel devised a plan to sabotage the Nord Stream pipelines.
Prosecutors allege the group used false documents to rent the sailing yacht Andromeda, then took military-grade explosives to sea with professional divers, a skipper and an explosives specialist. The charges say timed devices were attached to the pipelines.
The first blast came at 02:03 am on 26 September 2022. Two further explosions followed, rupturing three of the four Nord Stream pipeline strings beneath the Baltic Sea. The blasts destroyed Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 about 80 meters below the surface near the Danish island of Bornholm.
Nord Stream 1 had supplied around half of Germany's annual demand for natural gas.
Prosecutors say four devices containing “high-performance explosives”, each weighing up to 27kg, had been planted at depth and fitted with timers. They strongly suspect that Serhii K. led a crew that included four deep-sea divers aboard the rented Andromeda, a 15-meter yacht.
Photographs taken by a holidaymaker at the port in Wiek show equipment being loaded days before the detonations.
Serhii K., a former Ukrainian Special Forces soldier identified during extradition proceedings as Serhii Kuznetsov, then evaded capture for nearly three years, according to the case against him. A copy of his real passport seen by the BBC contains more than two dozen post-attack stamps from countries including France, Spain and Canada.
German authorities had identified him as their key suspect by 13 August 2025, when he was detected crossing into Poland. An arrest warrant followed on 18 August 2025.
Italian police later arrested him late at night at La Pescaccia glamping resort on Italy's Adriatic coast, after he showed his passport at check-in. He was led away from the resort and his family in handcuffs.
He was extradited to Germany in November 2025 and spent months in isolation in a high security prison.
The wider inquiry has also led to the arrest of Vladimir Z., a 46-year-old trained scuba diver accused of taking part in the dives during which the explosives were placed. He was arrested in August 2026 in the Croatian coastal town of Pula while working on a film project.
Serhii K.'s trial opened at Hamburg's Higher Regional Court on 14 October 2026 and is expected to run into February 2027. He faces charges of causing an explosion and a war crime involving an alleged attack on civilian infrastructure.
The prosecution alleges he acted on behalf of 'state agencies of Ukraine'. It says he entered Germany for the operation using a forged passport likely issued by Ukraine's security services.
Forensic teams matched explosive traces from the Andromeda with residues recovered from metal fragments close to the damaged pipelines on the seabed. Maritime charts and technical files on the pipelines were also found on Serhii K.'s seized phone.
German investigators believe a Ukrainian state agency ordered the attack to deprive Russia of revenue financing its invasion of Ukraine. Serhii K. and Ukraine deny any involvement in the sabotage.
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