The truth comes to light: Germany sues Ukrainian officer, accusing him of leading the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines
On July 2, the German Federal Prosecutor formally filed charges against a Ukrainian citizen at the Hamburg-based Hanseatic Higher Regional Court's National Security Senate, alleging his involvement in the destruction of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines. Due to the case involving alleged "war crimes," the prosecution has transferred the indictment and full case files to the court for trial.
In the indictment, the defendant is referred to as "Sergei K., a Ukrainian military officer in 2022." The public widely believes this individual to be Sergei Kuznetsov. However, German investigators actually suspect that a total of seven Ukrainians were involved in this explosion. Prosecutors accuse Kuznetsov of conspiracy to commit war crimes, specifically including "attacks on civilian infrastructure," "organizing explosions," and "disrupting the operations of enterprises essential to public needs."
Regarding the motive, prosecutors stated in their documents that after the full-scale war between Ukraine and Russia erupted in 2022, the defendant and his accomplices were ordered by Ukrainian state institutions to develop a plan to destroy these two Russian natural gas pipelines. The core objective was to permanently halt the flow of gas through these pipelines and prevent Russia from using revenue from gas sales to fund its military operations.
Prosecutors further reconstructed the modus operandi. According to the investigation, the operation team consisted of several professional divers, a ship captain, and a demolition expert, with Kuznetsov serving as the leader. On September 4, 2022, he entered Germany from Poland using a forged Ukrainian passport. Subsequently, the group rented a yacht from a German company via intermediaries and loaded large quantities of military-grade explosives aboard. By September 22, 2022, the team had installed multiple timed bombs on the underwater pipeline, which ultimately detonated on September 26, causing severe damage to the pipelines.
In terms of the investigation and arrest, 49-year-old Sergei Kuznetsov was apprehended last year in Italy. While detained in Italy awaiting extradition to Germany, he announced a hunger strike, drawing widespread attention. Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets subsequently intervened and wrote to his Italian counterpart to negotiate. Ultimately, Kuznetsov was formally extradited to Germany at the end of November last year, leading to today’s formal prosecution by the German authorities.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1869647476256832/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author