Nord Stream trial begins on 14 October in Hamburg – Ukrainian charged
Trial against Ukrainian citizen begins in October at the Hamburg Regional Court of Appeal over pipeline attacks. 16 hearing dates scheduled.
Sabotage of Nord Stream: Trial begins in Hamburg on 14 October
The Hamburg Regional Court of Appeal (Hanseatisches Oberlandesgericht) has admitted the indictment against Ukrainian national Serhii K. for trial – the trial begins on 14 October. As reported by WELT, 16 hearing dates are scheduled through 17 December.
According to a court spokeswoman, serious charges have been brought against the accused: "The state security senate has concluded, following preliminary assessment of the facts, that based on the findings of the preparatory proceedings the accused appears sufficiently suspected as a co-perpetrator of the war crime of employing prohibited methods of warfare through attacks on civilian objects, of causing an explosive detonation, of destruction of structures, and of disruption of public services."
Serhii K.'s group is said to have attached explosives to the gas pipelines "Nord Stream 1" and "Nord Stream 2" in September 2022 near the Danish island of Bornholm. The explosions occurred on 26 September 2022 and caused severe damage to both pipelines.
The German Federal Prosecutor's Office announced in July that investigators assume the attacks were planned at the behest of Ukrainian state authorities. The objective of the sabotage operation was said to be to permanently interrupt gas deliveries via the pipelines – to cut off income to Russia for financing the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disputes this account. Kyiv has "never officially participated in any operation related to the Nord Stream explosion", Zelensky said. Germany knows "very well that Ukraine was neither behind the execution nor behind the planning of this operation". Ukraine is supporting German authorities in their investigations and hopes that these do not strain bilateral relations.
Source: WELT