Nord Stream trial begins; defense says Ukrainian suspect was in Ukraine at the time

Germany's first trial over the attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines begins Wednesday at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg. The defendant, a 50-year-old Ukrainian identified as Serhii K., is accused by federal prosecutors of coordinating the explosions of Sept. 26, 2022. Charges include a war crime by attacking civilian objects, causing an explosion and anti-constitutional sabotage. He is presumed innocent.

The defense rejects the allegations. Lawyer Nicola Canestrini told ZDF's "frontal" program that K. says he had nothing to do with the attack and was in Ukraine when the blasts occurred, and that he expects an acquittal. Co-counsel Jens Meyer-Lohkamp wants the court to examine whether the pipelines should still have been allowed to operate given Russia's war of aggression, according to Der Tagesspiegel; the defense argues they were a legitimate military target.

According to the indictment, K. and six alleged accomplices planted explosives on the pipelines from the sailing yacht Andromeda on behalf of Ukrainian state bodies. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has always denied knowing about or ordering the sabotage. The court has scheduled 16 hearing days through Dec. 17, with more in 2027. It refused to admit the Nord Stream companies as co-plaintiffs, finding the damage did not amount to an economic total loss.