KARLSRUHE — German federal prosecutors have filed charges against Serhii K, a 50-year-old Ukrainian national, in connection with the 2022 explosions that damaged Nord Stream underwater gas pipelines. The charges, filed on July 2, 2026, accuse Serhii K of attacking civilian energy infrastructure, causing an explosion, and destroying structures.

Court documents identify the accused as Serhii K under German privacy rules. Prosecutors allege in a December 2025 detention filing that he helped coordinate a team that used the sailing yacht Andromeda to place explosive devices on the pipelines near Denmark's Bornholm Island in September 2022. Prosecutors suspect Serhii K acted as the on-board coordinator and team leader, rather than a diver or bomb expert.

Serhii K was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and subsequently extradited to Germany in November 2025. At the time of his arrest, he was identified as Serhii Kuznietsov. German prosecutors stated that Kuznietsov used forged identity documents to charter a yacht that departed from Rostock, Germany.

Kuznietsov has denied involvement in the sabotage operation. He stated he was a member of the Ukrainian armed forces and was in Ukraine at the time of the incident. His defense team has indicated that his presence in Ukraine as a military member would provide him with "functional immunity" under international law. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the developments, stating, "We have not officially received any details; at least I have not seen them." He added, "It is too early to say yet." The government of Ukraine has previously denied involvement in the sabotage or knowledge of the plot to bomb the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines.

The explosions on September 26, 2022, damaged both the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, preventing gas transport through them. Germany had previously canceled its approval process for Nord Stream 2 in February 2022, shortly before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Nord Stream 2 was 100% owned by the Russian gas company Gazprom. Russia shut down Nord Stream 1 months after February 2022, citing equipment problems.