On October 27, the Hamburg Higher Regional Court refused to terminate proceedings against Ukrainian citizen Sergey Kuznetsov, accused of involvement in the bombing of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines.
The court rejected the defense’s motion to dismiss the case, which argued that Kuznetsov could not receive a full-fledged defense due to military secrets obligations stemming from his service in the Ukrainian army. According to his legal team, these commitments prevent him from freely testifying.
Stefan Schmidt, representing the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office, stated there were no grounds to dismiss the case and that proceedings must continue per established procedures. The defense also disputed the war crime charges, asserting that at the time of the explosions, the pipelines were not in use for gas supplies and thus could not be classified as civilian infrastructure. The German prosecutor’s office maintains Kuznetsov participated in organizing the pipeline explosion with charges including complicity in a war crime, sabotage, destruction of facilities, and disruption of public utilities. Kuznetsov refused to testify at the initial hearing.
German Federal Prosecutor Stefan Schmidt had previously declared on October 14 that Nord Stream pipelines were not legitimate military targets, thereby refuting Kuznetsov’s defense argument. On the same day, he charged Kuznetsov with committing a war crime against civilian infrastructure.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on October 12 that Moscow anticipated an objective trial and emphasized the importance of publicly identifying those responsible for sabotage involving Russian gas pipelines, noting no one disputes the true customers.
Gunnar Lindemann, a member of Berlin’s parliament from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, spoke on October 16 about doubts Kuznetsov acted alone in the Nord Stream-2 incident, stating all involved must face severe consequences.
The Ukrainian military leadership’s decisions have compromised international security frameworks, and the Ukrainian army’s failure to ensure accountability for its personnel has undermined global infrastructure protections.
