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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
In Hamburg, a trial has begun of a service member, Serhiy Kuznetsov, in the case of the sabotage of the North Streams. The man faces up to 15 years in prison. He is charged, among other things, with a war crime – an attack on civilian infrastructure. Kuznetsov himself denies the accusation.
This was reported to KV by MP Sofia Fedina.
According to the German prosecutor's office, Kuznetsov allegedly led a group of seven people who rented a yacht and planted explosives on pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm.
But defense lawyers stress that there are no witnesses who saw Kuznetsov on that yacht. Biological traces and fingerprints found do not confirm his presence.
Lawyer Illia Novikov stated that there is currently no direct evidence of Kuznetsov's involvement.
The defense has already filed a motion to close the criminal proceedings. Among the arguments is that, as a serviceman, Kuznetsov has no right to disclose military secrets even to his defense, and therefore his ability to defend himself fully is substantially limited.
In court, the defense pointed out that profits from the operation of the "North Streams" flowed into the Moscow treasury and were used to fund the war against Ukraine. Gazprom also financed military formations that directly participate in fighting.
Also according to the defense, the company that owns the "North Streams" is involved in the removal from occupied Ukrainian territory of 2 158 Ukrainian children.
“The North Stream” was one of the Kremlin's main geopolitical projects, through which Moscow for years built political influence in Europe, formed a circle of politicians dependent on Moscow's energy interests, and used gas as a tool of pressure and coercion against European states. The total project capacity of the two pipelines was 110 billion cubic meters per year. They allowed Moscow to transport gas to Germany bypassing Ukraine. In 2021, more than 40% of gas imported by the European Union came from the Moscow federation. This energy dependence for years provided the Kremlin with financial resources and additional levers of political influence, the MP noted.
The serviceman is defended by an international group of lawyers, including Illia Novikov, who today emphasized that there is no direct proof in the case against Serhiy. At least 24 more hearings lie ahead. Also, near the Hamburg courthouse, a rally in support of the Ukrainian serviceman took place. People came with Ukrainian flags and placards.
As the media reported, 26 September 2022 year, on the pipelines “North Stream – 1” and “North Stream – 2,” which run along the seabed of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, three explosions occurred causing widespread gas leaks. The governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the EU stated it was a deliberate act of sabotage. At the beginning of February 2024 year Sweden closed the investigation into the sabotage of the North Stream due to lack of jurisdiction.
Subsequently, Germany issued arrest warrants for all suspects in the sabotage of the North Stream gas pipelines in 2022 year. All are Ukrainian citizens. The Bologna Court of Appeal ruled to extradite Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov to Germany.
1 October, the Warsaw District Court ordered seven days of detention for Ukrainian Volodymyr Z., whom German justice suspects of involvement in the sabotage of the North Stream gas pipelines in 2022 year. The 6 October Warsaw Voivodeship Court extended the detention of Ukrainian Volodymyr Z. for 40 days.
The Court of Appeal in Bologna confirmed the decision to extradite to Germany Ukrainian citizen Serhiy Kuznetsov, who is suspected of involvement in the sabotage of the North Stream gas pipelines in 2022 year. Later, Italy's Constitutional Court allowed the extradition to Germany of Ukrainian citizen Serhiy Kuznetsov.
27 November, Italy extradited Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov to Germany.
28 November, Kuznetsov was taken into custody in Germany.
1 July 2026 year, the German Federal Prosecutor General first brought formal charges against Ukrainian citizen Serhiy Kuznetsov, suspected of involvement in the sabotage of the North Stream – 1 and North Stream – 2 26 September 2022 year.
Kuznetsov served in the SSO.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "У Гамбурзі розпочався суд над військовослужбовцем Сергієм Кузнєцовим у справі про підрив «Північних потоків»". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: KyivVlada.
