"Nord Stream and the winner is? Ukrainians" Topic

"German federal ‌prosecutors ⁠have filed ⁠charges ​against a ​Ukrainian ​national ‌over a series of Nord ‌Stream pipeline blasts in September 2022, ‌German ​media reported on Wednesday.

Public broadcaster ARD and newspapers Süddeutsche Zeitung and Zeit named the accused as Serhii K. , who was detained in Italy on a German arrest warrant in August 2025 and extradited to Germany.

The 50-year-old Ukrainian soldier from Kyiv is accused of leading a team of seven accomplices in the operation which destroyed three of four key Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
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According to reports, investigators discovered that K. led the sabotage team and was in command of the sailing yacht Andromeda, from which the attack was allegedly carried out.

Investigators reportedly discovered traces of the military explosives HMX and RDX on the Andromeda.

Of K.'s seven alleged accomplices, one has reportedly since been killed during Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.

K. was arrested on August 21, 2025, in the Italian province of Rimini. Following his transfer to Germany on November 27, 2025, a German judge executed the arrest warrant the next day and he has been in pre-trial detention in the northern city of Hamburg since.

The evidence against the defendant is reportedly considered to be overwhelming. For instance, K. is alleged to have incriminated himself in intercepted phone calls made while in custody in Italy pending extradition."

Subject: Germany: Ukrainian national charged over Nord Stream blasts


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I knew it! No body can be trusted in an Italian prison.

Why does Germany have jurisdiction?

"Germany claims jurisdiction over the Nord Stream prosecution because the bombed pipelines ended in Lubmin, Germany, making the country the direct victim of the sabotage. German courts argue that the attack caused severe damage to its critical infrastructure and directly threatened Germany's energy security and internal safety. [1, 2]

The legal basis for this jurisdiction is rooted in the following principles under German law:
* Territorial Jurisdiction: The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) affirmed that Germany holds jurisdiction because the result of the offense—the pipelines being rendered inoperable—occurred on German territory, where the seafloor infrastructure terminates in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. [1, 2]
* Attacks on Critical Infrastructure: The primary suspect, a Ukrainian national identified as Serhii K., was indicted on charges including the directing of attacks against civilian objects and destruction of energy infrastructure, which fall under German and international law.
This assertion of jurisdiction has led to international complications, as some allied courts in Poland and Italy have challenged Germany's extradition warrants, claiming the act was tied to Ukraine's wartime defense or questioning the extraterritorial reach of German courts."

Why does Germany have jurisdiction?

Interesting question. It could be that the conspiracy is alleged to have operated in and from Germany.

The explosion was in international waters, but in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark. The pipeline was transporting natural gas from Russia to Germany.

Nord Stream is an international project developed by Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, and France. It is managed by Nord Stream AG, a specially created organization in Switzerland. Its shareholders are the Russian company Gazprom (51%), Germany's Wintershall and E.ON Ruhrgas (15.5% each), the Dutch Nederlandse Gasunie (9%), and France's GDF Suez (9%). This was the situation before the war.

The United States sought to hinder the construction of this project at all costs, as it would interfere with their plans to capture the European energy market.

The first restrictions on Russian export gas pipelines, such as Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream, were imposed on December 20, 2019. Washington demanded that foreign companies involved in the construction cease operations within thirty days. The organizations were threatened with a complete freeze on their American assets, a ban on any transactions with them, and a ban on entry of their representatives into the United States. The US authorities attributed these demands to "containing Russia and protecting European energy security." At that time, the Swiss company laying Nord Stream 2 pipes, as well as the Norwegian company that was supposed to certify the pipeline after its completion, withdrew. As a result, work was halted.

In January 2021, the US imposed new sanctions, this time against the Russian pipelaying barge Fortuna for its participation in the construction of Nord Stream 2. These sanctions forced 18 more European companies to withdraw from the pipeline project.

On May 21, 2021, the US imposed another round of restrictions against Russian organizations and vessels involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. However, the operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was not blacklisted.