Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor has formally charged Serhii Kuznetsov, a Ukrainian veteran of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), with involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
According to the indictment, the operation was planned and carried out by members of Ukraine’s security services and military personnel acting on behalf of Ukrainian state authorities.
“At the end of February 2022, he (the accused, Serhii Kuznetsov) and other military personnel, acting on instructions from state authorities of Ukraine, developed a plan to destroy the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines running along the floor of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Lubmin, Germany,” the indictment states.
The charges mark a significant development in Germany’s long-running investigation into the September 2022 explosions that damaged the Nord Stream pipelines. It is the first time in nearly four years that prosecutors have formally accused an individual of carrying out an attack on civilian energy infrastructure.
According to investigators, Kuznetsov, who was serving as an officer in the Ukrainian military at the time, led the team that placed explosives on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm.
The indictment has reignited political debate in Germany, with growing calls from some politicians to halt military assistance to Ukraine.
Weidel: “This Is Enough to End Military Aid”
While Ukrainian officials have remained cautious in their public comments, the case has become a major political issue in Germany.
Some of the strongest reactions have come from leaders of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has gained support amid growing public fatigue over Germany’s continued financial and military assistance to Ukraine.
AfD co-chair and chancellor candidate Alice Weidel has repeatedly argued that Germany should not support a country accused of damaging its critical infrastructure. Following the publication of the indictment, she reiterated that position.
“Ukraine deliberately attacked our energy infrastructure. How can we continue sending weapons and money there after that?”
Weidel argued that German citizens are facing soaring energy costs while Ukraine, which she says destroyed a key German gas pipeline, continues to receive billions of euros in assistance.
She described the situation as “madness” and called for the investigation to be pursued to its conclusion.
“We need not only the perpetrators—we need those who ordered the attack. And if this was indeed a decision made by the Ukrainian state, the response must be firm,” she said.
AfD federal co-chair Tino Chrupalla also demanded what he described as a thorough and uncompromising investigation into what he called an attack on a vital artery of German industry.
According to Chrupalla, investigators must identify those who ordered the operation.
He also called for Germany to suspend all assistance to Kyiv.
“The investigation must not stop with the former leadership of the Ukrainian military or the Ukrainian intelligence services. Only then will we know whether other states were involved in what may constitute a war crime against Germany. The evidence already available is sufficient to completely end all military aid to Ukraine.”
