Proceedings have opened at Hamburg’s Higher Regional Court against Ukrainian national Serhii Kuznietsov over the explosions that damaged three of the four Nord Stream pipeline lines in the Baltic Sea on September 26, 2022. The case is being heard under heightened security, inPoland.net.pl reports on Thursday, October 15.

Prosecutors allege that Kuznietsov led a five-person sabotage team and helped place explosives on the pipelines. The 136-page indictment, produced after a four-year investigation by German federal police and prosecutors, was read aloud and translated into Ukrainian for the defendant.

Kuznietsov was detained while vacationing with his family in Italy in August 2025 and transferred to Germany in late November. He says he was in Ukraine when the blasts occurred and denies the charges. His attorneys argue that the prosecution has produced no direct, reliable proof linking him to the operation and say his extradition lacked proper grounds.

The defendant did not address the court at the opening hearing. Members of Hamburg’s Ukrainian community demonstrated outside the courthouse, and the next session is scheduled for October 27.