Task: Ukrainians charged with Nord Stream sabotage

TT

Published 2026-07-01 17.37

 

The suspected Ukrainian man as he was brought to a court in Karlsruhe, Germany, last November. Photo: Uli Deck/Dpa Via AP/TT

German prosecutors are bringing formal charges against a 50-year-old Ukrainian man, who was detained on suspicion of involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

This is according to the man's lawyers for German media.

The man, who is said to have been an officer in a special unit of the Ukrainian military, was arrested in Italy in August last year and later extradited to Germany.

It was in September 2022 that leaks were discovered from the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. It was later confirmed that the pipelines had been blown up.

The man is suspected of having played a leading role in the group – which also included a captain, an explosives expert and four deep-sea divers – that carried out the sabotage.

The group is accused of having attached four timed explosive charges to the gas pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm.

The Süddeutsche Zeitung describes the evidence against the man as extensive, as he is said to have told relatives and acquaintances about the sabotage in telephone conversations.

The incident is being investigated in Germany because the consequences of the explosions also had an impact on German territory.

Another of the suspects was arrested in Poland in September. However, Polish authorities rejected a German request for extradition and the Ukrainian citizen was later released.