Trial begins in Germany over Nord Stream explosions

A 50-year-old Ukrainian accused of helping carry out the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline blasts goes on trial in Hamburg today. DR reports that German prosecutors have charged him with complicity in an attack on civilian objects, causing an explosion with explosives and destroying structures.

Denmark, Sweden and Germany each opened investigations after the explosions. Denmark and Sweden ended theirs in February 2024, while Germany continued its inquiry and brought charges against the former Ukrainian officer in early July.

German prosecutors allege that the man led a team that included an explosives expert and four deep-sea divers. They say the team placed high-explosive charges on the pipelines on the seabed in the Baltic Sea, northeast and southeast of Bornholm, in September 2022. The trial is expected to continue into next year.

DR investigative journalist Niels Fastrup, who has followed the case, said the question of who was responsible had taken several turns. Russia, the United States and Ukrainian actors had all been pointed to, he said, adding that the Ukrainian line of inquiry had proved the most substantial so far.

Fastrup said he would be watching for evidence about whether the alleged operation was carried out independently by Ukrainian military personnel or had the approval of the Ukrainian government or President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy has repeatedly denied Ukraine was involved. Russia has also denied responsibility.

Peter Viggo Jakobsen, a lecturer at the Royal Danish Defence College’s Institute for Strategy and War Studies, described the case as striking because the pipelines were valuable and suspicions had shifted between east and west. Based on information released by German investigators, he said, there was now less doubt that Ukrainians were behind the blasts. The key unanswered question, he said, was how far up the chain of command responsibility went.

Fastrup said a finding that the Ukrainian state was responsible could become a political headache for European governments. He said Danish and German government support for Ukraine remained strong, but that political forces in Germany, particularly the right-wing Alternative for Germany party, were already using the case to argue for ending support for Ukraine.

Jakobsen also said the case could become a sensitive domestic political issue in Germany if Ukrainian actors were found to be responsible. He said Germany had an interest in continuing to fund and support Ukraine in its war against Russia while rebuilding its own defence.

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were built to carry gas from Russia to Europe through Germany. The Russian state-owned company Gazprom was their main owner. Explosions were recorded at Nord Stream 2 at 2.03am on September 26, 2022, and at Nord Stream 1 at 7.03pm. Investigators later found four large holes in three pipes, and gas bubbled to the surface for several days. Nord Stream 2 was not yet in use, but its two pipes were filled with gas; Nord Stream 1 had been operating since 2011.