Photo: EPA
German federal prosecutors have charged a Ukrainian citizen in connection with the September 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Investigators allege he was one of the key participants in the operation, Euronews reports.
According to prosecutors, the defendant was part of a group that traveled to the explosion site aboard the rented yacht Andromeda. Investigators believe divers placed explosive devices on the pipelines at a depth of around 80 meters. He has been charged with sabotage, causing an explosion, and anti-constitutional sabotage.
The suspect was arrested in Italy in 2025 under a European arrest warrant before being extradited to Germany. He denies all allegations, while his lawyers argue that the evidence linking him to the attack is insufficient.
Meanwhile, Der Spiegel published a new investigation claiming that the CIA was aware of preparations for the operation as early as spring 2022. According to the report, U.S. intelligence officials initially discussed the plan with its alleged organizers but later tried to persuade the Ukrainian side to abandon it. The magazine also claims that the CIA station chief in Kyiv urged Ukraine's presidential office to halt the operation.
A CIA spokesperson dismissed the report as "completely and utterly false." Ukrainian authorities have also repeatedly denied any involvement in the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines.
The explosions occurred on September 26, 2022, in the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden. Three of the four Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipeline strings were damaged, effectively shutting down one of the main routes for transporting Russian natural gas to Europe.
The German investigation has gradually shifted from identifying suspects to pursuing criminal proceedings. Earlier this year, Germany's Federal Court formally ruled that one of the suspects could not claim immunity, marking the first time the court explicitly linked the sabotage to Ukraine.
Later, Der Spiegel reported that investigators believe the operation was allegedly approved by then Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi without President Volodymyr Zelensky's knowledge.
Zaluzhnyi declined to comment on what he described as "various rumors." Meanwhile, the Nord Stream case continues to fuel political debate. In March, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that the United States was seeking control over the pipelines, although he provided no evidence to support the allegation.
