German prosecutors allege Ukraine ordered the Nord Stream pipeline attack
German federal prosecutors said the September 2022 explosions that ruptured the Nord Stream gas pipelines were ordered by Ukraine to deny Russia energy revenue for its war. They charged Serhii K., a former Ukrainian officer arrested in Italy and transferred to Germany in late 2025, with a war crime of attacking civilian objects, alleging he led a team of divers and an explosives expert that used forged documents and a chartered boat to plant charges near Denmark’s Bornholm island. He denies involvement.
The formal attribution to a Ukrainian-directed operation raises the diplomatic stakes for Berlin and Kyiv, coming as European governments continue to arm Ukraine against Russia. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would respond once it had more details. German courts claim jurisdiction because the damaged pipelines make landfall in Germany and the blasts hit German energy security; the case is likely to sharpen a long-contested question of who was behind one of Europe’s most consequential acts of infrastructure sabotage.