Hamburg. Nearly four years after the explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, Germany has launched the world's first criminal trial in this case. On October 14, 2026, 50-year-old Ukrainian Sergiy K. stood trial. For German politics, this is not only a legal but also a political event: the trial is already being used as an argument in the debate over further aid to Ukraine. This was reported by tagesschau.
What Sergiy K. is accused of
The case is being heard by the Senate for the Protection of the Constitution at the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg. The Federal Prosecutor's Office of Germany considers Sergiy K., a former officer of Ukraine's special operations forces, to be the leader of a sabotage group. According to the investigation, in September 2022, he and six others — a military demolitions expert, a skipper, and four civilian divers — departed from the port of Wieck on the island of Rügen aboard the chartered sailing yacht "Andromeda". On September 26, 2022, at a depth of approximately 80 meters near the Danish island of Bornholm, explosives damaged three of the four pipes of Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2.
The indictment spans 136 pages. Sergiy K. is charged with a war crime — the use of prohibited methods of warfare by attacking civilian infrastructure — as well as causing an explosion, destroying structures, and disrupting the operation of public utilities. The prosecution is convinced that he acted as an officer of the Ukrainian army and with the knowledge of Ukrainian state authorities. The defense, however, argues that there are no direct and convincing evidence of his involvement and demands the case be dismissed.
- Sergiy K. was arrested in August 2025 in Italy, on the Adriatic coast where he was vacationing with his family, under a European arrest warrant.
- On November 27, 2025, he was handed over to Germany; he has been in custody since.
- Hearings are scheduled at least until the end of January 2027 — averaging twice a week. Observers do not rule out that a verdict may only be delivered years later.
- Operators of the pipelines, predominantly Russian-owned, sought to join the case as accessory prosecutors, but the court denied their request: the trial concerns only the question of guilt, not compensation for damages.
Interest in the case is immense: over a hundred journalists have been accredited, including from Ukraine, Russia, the US, the UK, and France. Hearings are taking place in a specially secured wing of the courthouse. On the day the trial opened, two groups of protesters gathered outside the building: activists close to the BSW party demanded a "political investigative committee," while several Ukrainians held photos of destroyed cities with the question: "What are war crimes?"
AfD and BSW demand halt to aid for Ukraine
In the Bundestag, the trial has predictably sparked sharp debates. The AfD and BSW parties demand not only an end to Ukraine's multi-billion-euro support, but also compensation from Kyiv and the imposition of sanctions. AfD foreign policy spokesperson Markus Frönmayer accuses the government of double standards, pointing out that sanctions against Russia were imposed even before the investigation into the drone attack on Leipzig/Halle airport was concluded. The recent trip of Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Kyiv with a package of one billion euros in military aid and 350 million for energy was also framed by the AfD as a waste of funds supposedly needed for schools and social services in Germany itself.
"Stopping aid means playing into Putin's hands"
The Greens and SPD respond that Russia started this war and commits mass war crimes daily without allowing any investigations. Green parliamentary group foreign policy spokesperson Deborah Dühring emphasizes that the AfD and BSW are stoking "imaginary scandals" to undermine support for Ukraine. SPD MP Daniel Baldi reminds that stable gas supplies from Russia had already stopped before the explosions — the Kremlin then cited "technical reasons".
Meanwhile, Baldi acknowledges: if the court establishes that Ukrainian state structures were behind the sabotage, this must have consequences, but at the right time. "If we now withdraw support from Ukraine, it will only play into Putin's hands — and the AfD's, which wants exactly that," he says. The Greens also stress that security and social spending should not be pitted against each other: a significant portion of defense expenditures has been moved outside the "debt brake" regulations.
Despite this, parliamentary backroom discussions increasingly suggest that support for Ukraine is waning. The successes of the AfD and BSW in state elections show how large the demand for explanations is. Merz seems to have sensed this: in a speech at the awarding of the Westphalian Peace Prize, he explained the government's position in more detail than usual. "Our support for Ukraine is not an end in itself," the chancellor said. It is about the security of Germany and Europe.
How the trial is viewed in Kyiv
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly denied any involvement of the Ukrainian state in the bombing. Meanwhile, according to journalistic investigations, both he and former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, now ambassador to London, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, may have been aware of the plans. Former intelligence officer Roman Chervynskyi, whom German investigators consider the operation's coordinator, neither confirms nor denies his involvement. However, he acknowledges that Sergiy K. served in his unit and considers the pipeline — one of Gazprom's most profitable revenue sources — a legitimate target in the defense against Russia.
Many Ukrainians share this view. Ukrainian MFA spokesperson Georgiy Tykhyi suggested focusing not on who blew up the pipelines, but on who built, approved, and launched them — Ukraine had warned against the project as early as 2021. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed a similar stance. Meanwhile, in Kyiv, there are fears that the trial could damage Ukraine's image and become a propaganda tool. Lawyer Mykola Katerynychuk also warns: in case of a guilty verdict, Russia may attempt to reclaim assets frozen in Europe.
What this means for Ukrainians in Germany
The trial will be lengthy, and the "Nord Stream" topic will regularly appear in German news and political debates. For Ukrainians in Germany, it is crucial to understand: this is a trial of a specific individual, not of the Ukrainian community or Ukraine as a whole. Official Berlin is currently not changing its support course, and most parliamentary parties directly link aid to Ukraine with Germany's own security. At the same time, one should be prepared for populist forces to continue using this case in electoral rhetoric.
This article was prepared based on tagesschau.de publications from October 14, 2026 ("Nord Stream Attack – A Trial with Political Dimension", "A Legitimate Military Target for Ukraine?", "Nord Stream Trial in Hamburg: What It's About"). The text is an independent Ukrainian summary, not a literal translation.