German federal prosecutors Thursday confirmed they had charged a Ukrainian national over the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline, accusing him of acting as an accomplice in a war crime.
According to an indictment filed on June 30 and seen by POLITICO, prosecutors accuse a man known as Serhii K. of acting as an accomplice in a war crime by carrying out an “attack against civilian objects,” causing an explosion, destroying structures and disrupting public utilities. The development brings one of Europe’s most politically sensitive investigations a step closer to trial.
German prosecutors further allege that, as an officer in the Ukrainian army in 2022, he and other military personnel “acting on behalf of state bodies in Ukraine” developed a plan to destroy the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in order to permanently halt Russian gas deliveries and prevent Moscow from using energy revenues to finance its war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has denied that his government was involved in the sabotage.
