The key facts

  • The Higher Regional Court of Hamburg began the sixth hearing in the Nord Stream sabotage case
  • Kuznetsov is charged with a war crime; he refused to testify
  • The court had earlier denied the Nord Stream operators permission to participate in the proceedings

Another hearing in Hamburg

The Higher Regional Court of Hamburg began the sixth hearing in the case of the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Before the proceedings began, the defendant Sergei Kuznetsov was brought to the court under guard; after a panel of six judges entered the courtroom and those present rose from their seats, the hearing was declared open. This was reported by RIA Novosti, which is cited by Gazeta.Ru.

What is known about the case

The proceedings began on October 14, when the first hearing took place in Hamburg. The prosecutor charged the Ukrainian Sergei Kuznetsov with a war crime, stating that he had acted on instructions from Ukrainian state authorities. The defendant himself refused to testify.

The charges and the defendant's status

Kuznetsov was detained in Italy in August 2025 and then extradited to Germany. The local prosecutor's office charged him with a war crime, an attack on civilian energy infrastructure, carrying out an explosion, and destruction of structures.

Context of the trial

According to German media reports, at the time the crime was committed Kuznetsov served in the Ukrainian army and worked for the SBU. Earlier, a court in Germany did not allow the Nord Stream operators to participate in the proceedings — this means that the companies that owned the damaged infrastructure are not parties to the case.