Ukraine ex-military officer to stand trial over Nord Stream sabotage

A former Ukrainian military officer, Sergiy Kuznietsov, is scheduled to go on trial in a German court in Hamburg on Wednesday over the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline bombings. The blasts, months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, damaged three of the four Nord Stream lines under the Baltic Sea. German investigators say an alleged Ukrainian sabotage cell planted explosives using divers, an explosives expert and a yacht skipper. Kuznietsov, arrested in Italy in August 2024 and extradited the next month, is accused of carrying out a war crime, attacking civilian infrastructure and causing explosions. The trial runs until February 2027.