Hamburg: Trial of alleged leader of Nord Stream saboteurs
A Ukrainian man is on trial in Hamburg. Investigators accuse him of leading a commando unit in the attack on the gas pipelines.
Charges against Ukrainian saboteur in Hamburg
On 26 September 2022, several explosive charges destroyed the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Since then, no Russian natural gas has flowed to Europe via this route. According to Süddeutsche Zeitung, the investigators' trail leads to Ukraine.
German authorities accuse seven Ukrainian men of being behind the attack. Their alleged leader, a man named Serhij K., has been in the dock in Hamburg since Wednesday. Investigators have built a chain of evidence against him.
One piece of evidence is central: Serhij K. is said to have been in one of the vehicles with which the Ukrainian commando transported equipment to the Baltic Sea. A second indicator carries considerable weight – while in Italian extradition detention, he conducted a recorded telephone conversation with his wife in Ukraine according to authorities, which proved incriminating.
Public speculation about the perpetrator circulated for a long time: some suspected the United States, others pointed to Russia. Investigators now state they are certain that the Ukrainian side carried out the attack.
Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung