German prosecutors charge a Ukrainian over Nord Stream pipeline explosions

BERLIN (AP) — German federal prosecutors on Thursday filed charges against a former Ukrainian army officer over undersea explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany four years ago.

The suspect, identified only as Serhii K. in line with local privacy rules, faces charges of causing an explosion, damaging property, disrupting public service and being an “accomplice to war crimes” by attacking civilian objects, prosecutors said in a statement.

The undersea explosions on Sept. 26, 2022, damaged pipelines that were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

They added to tensions over the war in Ukraine as European countries moved to wean themselves off Russian energy sources, following the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Prosecutors say the aim of the plot was to permanently disrupt gas deliveries via the pipelines and prevent Russia from using the revenues from natural gas trading to finance its military operations.

The suspect was detained in August in an Italian village, where officers raided a bungalow where he was staying with his family. Police said he surrendered without resistance. He was extradited to Germany in November.

Serhii K. and others allegedly used a yacht that set off from the German port of Rostock, which had been hired from a German company using forged IDs and with the help of intermediaries.

The explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which was Russia’s main natural gas supply route to Germany until Moscow cut off supplies in August 2022. They also damaged Nord Stream 2, which never entered service because Germany suspended its certification process shortly before Russia’s invasion.

Russia has accused the U.S. of staging the explosions, a charge Washington has denied. The pipelines were long a target of criticism by the U.S. and some of its allies, which warned that they increased dependence on Russian gas.